A Hamas senior official on Saturday expected that Egypt will resume its efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian armed groups next week.

"Egypt may discuss the lull's issue with the Israeli side on May 11," said Mahmoud Zahar, a member of Hamas politburo based in the Gaza Strip.

He added that Hamas had "presented its conditions and there would be a lull if these conditions were met." He declined to reveal contents of the conditions.

Zahar added that "the situation will be as it is" if Israel rejected Hamas' demands.

Zahar's remarks were made one day after the Islamic movement, which controls Gaza, denied reports that a ceasefire was scheduled to take effect Friday.

Zahar noted that Hamas and Israel had been about to reach an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire after the end of the Israeli major military offensive in Gaza in January 2009 but the former Israeli government rejected it "in the last moment and demanded it be linked with the case of a captive Israeli soldier."

Hamas wants the ceasefire with Israel to secure the opening of the commercial crossing points into Gaza without tight restrictions.

The movement, which holds the soldier Gilad Shalit hostage since 2006, insisted that Shalit only be released under a prisoner exchange deal different from the lull's talks.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2009)