If this is real, it would be a major step towards peace.

Abbas Ready to Meet Security Commitments

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he is ready to honor the security commitments in an internationally backed peace plan, and a Hamas leader said the violent Islamic group does not seek to eliminate the Jewish state.

Sheik Hassan Yousef, Hamas' top official in the West Bank, also held out the possibility of a cease-fire with Israel.

"Hamas doesn't want to eliminate Israel. Hamas is a realistic political movement," Yousef said, in a marked departure from the group's previous calls for the Jewish state's destruction.