The United States has welcomed a tentative ceasefire accord between Israel and the Palestinians. The US said that the development showed "promise" for the future.
President George W Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell said that they were particularly pleased at the agreement being reached while much of the world's attention was focused on last week's terrorist attacks in the United States.
However, militant Palestinian groups vowed to ignore ceasefire orders and carry on attacking Israeli targets both in the occupied West Bank and Gaza and inside Israel.
In a statement, Islamic Jihad said that it rejected the ceasefire and slammed Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's offer to throw his weight behind what the United States calls a global war on terror.
The Israeli army announced earlier that its forces had been ordered to pull out of all areas under full Palestinian rule. Mr Arafat again ordered his military commanders to secure a ceasefire on all fronts.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, warmly welcomed Mr Arafat's affirmation of the Palestinian desire for peace and also the Israeli decision to suspend offensive operations.
