Sharon calls truce deal 'positive first step'

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon welcomed on Thursday an agreement by Palestinian groups to a conditional halt on attacks on Israel but said the militant factions must eventually be disarmed in the interests of peace. Sharon's office said the prime minister told Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak by telephone: "The arrangement reached in Cairo is a positive first step."
The Israeli statement said Sharon noted the deal was an interim agreement and that progress in the peace process hinged on disarming the militants.
"The terrorist organisations cannot continue to exist as armed groups and certainly not as terrorist organisations," Sharon was quoted as saying.