Who has Mr. Abbas been holding talks with?

The new Palestinian leader Mahmound Abbas says he has made significant progress towards persuading militant groups in Gaza to agree to a ceasefire. But he warned that Israel had to stop its raids and attacks too. Mr. Abbas has been holding talks with representatives of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other groups who’ve signaled their readiness to maintain a period of calm. Reporting from Jerusalem, John Line. There has been no ceasefire announced but the atmosphere is increasingly positive. And it’s clear a lot is going on behind the scenes. The Palestine leader Mahmound Abbas has been holding talks with militant leaders in Gaza for the last five days. He said there had been significant progress and they were bound to reach agreement very soon. But earlier militant leaders denied reports from the Israeli government that a ceasefire deal had already been reached. Palestinian militants have said they are not prepared to announce a ceasefire until Israel agrees to halt attacks on them.