A senior official travelling with Ariel Sharon in Moscow Monday told AFP that the Israeli prime minister may meet his Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qorei "within days".

Palestinian sources also told AFP that finance minister Salam Fayad had met with Israel's Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz late last week, without giving details.

Israeli media also reported that the head of the internal security service Shin Beth had met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's national security advisor Jibril Rajoub over the weekend.

Rajoub however denied that he had met with Shin Beth's Avi Dichter, telling AFP that "I am not against meetings but I have not met with any Israeli official."

Israel officially severed contacts with the Palestinians after a massive suicide bus bomb in Jerusalem on August 19 but there have been increasing signs of a thaw in relations as the Palestinian premier prepares to unveil an enlarged government later this week.

Qorei has made the securing of a mutual ceasefire with Israel the top priority of his new government and his efforts received a major boost late Sunday when the political leader of the Islamist Hamas movement said that it could halt its attacks on civilians in Israel.

Hamas has carried out hundreds of attacks against Israel, including the August 19 bombing, but the group's political leader hinted that the campaign could now be limited to military targets.