At least 300 Palestinian gunmen accept amnesty deal

Under the program launched last month, more than 300 Al Aqsa gunmen have surrendered their weapons to Palestinian authorities and pledged to refrain from violence, said a senior Palestinian security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue.

He said all but three members of Al Aqsa have joined the program.

The official said 25 gunmen from Islamic Jihad also signed the pledge and handed in their guns, defying the group's leaders, who have vetoed the idea. Islamic Jihad shares the militant anti- Israeli ideology of Hamas, also gets backing from Iran, and has carried out several deadly suicide bombings in Israel.

Israeli officials said they could not immediately verify the Palestinian officials account, but they did not express doubts about it. They also could not immediately say whether groups other than Al Aqsa were eligible for the amnesty program.

In another sign of trust, Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel are to meet today to prepare for November's US- sponsored Mideast conference. The meeting is tentatively planned to take place in the West Bank town of Jericho, which would mark Olmert's first visit to a Palestinian town as prime minister.

Palestinian officials said Abbas and Olmert have begun talking about a broad outline of a future peace deal, which could be presented to the November conference in the United States.