Leaders from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad (Holy War) on Monday responded negatively to ceasefire with Israel, which is expected to be declared at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit.

Mahmoud al-Zahar said Hamas would not accept a ceasefire deal with Israel until the movement's leaders meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas after he returns from the summit.

"If there are no positive responses from the Israeli side, mainly the release of all prisoners from Israeli jails and the haltof all kinds of aggressions against the Palestinian people, there will be no ceasefire," said Zahar.

Meanwhile, Nafez Azzam, a Jihad leader in Gaza, announced that his movement will not declare ceasefire until Israel is committed to it.

Israeli and Palestinian officials said Monday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will declare a formal ceasefire at the summit on Tuesday.

"The most important thing at the summit will be a mutual declaration of cessation of violence against each other," said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Sharon, Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will meet at Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday. It will be the first tete-a-tete meeting betweenSharon and Abbas in one and a half years.

Source: Xinhua