Jerusalem ? Palestinian militant groups are willing to halt suicide bombings and other attacks if Israel promises to stop carrying out military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a top Palestinian official said Saturday, holding out hope for a truce agreement.

However, Israel has refused to say whether it would agree to such cease-fire terms, while a top Islamic militant leader has ruled out an immediate end to attacks on Israelis.

Bringing about a truce between Israel and the Palestinians is seen as a key step in efforts to revitalize the U.S.-backed “road map” peace plan that has stalled amid violence and Palestinian political crises. Saturday, Israeli soldiers fired at a group of youths throwing stones in the West Bank, killing a 14-year-old Palestinian boy, according to Palestinian medical sources.

An agreement could help strengthen new Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia after an earlier cease-fire, secured by his predecessor, collapsed this summer.

Qureia and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon have been preparing for a possible summit in the coming days to discuss peace moves.

In advance of such a meeting, Qureia has been working to persuade militant factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to again agree to end attacks.

Raanan Gissin, a Sharon adviser, declined to say explicitly if Israel would join a cease-fire.

Masked Palestinians of the the militant Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, display their rifles during a demonstration in the Khan Younis refugee camp, south of the Gaza Strip. A Palestinian official said Saturday that militant groups were willing to halt suicide bombings and other attacks if Israel promised to stop its military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.