DATE=11/16/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS (S)

NUMBER=2-309883

BYLINE=ROSS DUNN

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia says he hopes to open talks soon with Islamic factions on a cease-fire with Israel. Ross Dunn reports from Jerusalem.

TEXT: Mr. Qureia says he hopes to meet with Hamas and Islamic Jihad to reach an agreement to halt violence against Israelis.

Both groups have admitted killing hundreds of Israelis through suicide bombings and other attacks. They are listed by the State Department as terrorist organizations.

Mr. Qureia says the key to dialogue with the two groups is likely to depend on Egyptian mediation.

He is to to meet Monday in the West Bank city of Ramallah with Egypt's intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, who helped negotiate a short-lived unilateral ceasefire by Palestinian militants earlier this year.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat says Mr. Suleiman will propose new ways to restore calm to the region after more than three years of bloodshed.

Israel insists that the Palestinian leadership dismantle all militant groups before peace negotiations can begin (SIGNED)

NEB/RD/DW/RAE