Peace still has its opponents -- on both sides:

Peace still has its opponents -- on both sides

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JERUSALEM -- Even as Israeli and Palestinian leaders talked peace, opponents back home vowed to fight on: Hamas militants said Mahmoud Abbas sold out their cause, while Jewish settlers rallied against their one-time top patron, Ariel Sharon.

The opposition underscored the political and practical difficulties the two prime ministers face. Terror attacks by the Palestinian militants could easily scuttle the entire enterprise. And the settlers, if they refuse to abandon their hilltop outposts, could make it very difficult for the already reluctant premier to move forward.

In Jerusalem, thousands of Jewish settlers and their supporters gathered to demonstrate against Sharon in Zion Square, under a large banner that said, "No to a Palestinian state."

In Gaza, sullen Hamas leaders watched TV as Abbas pledged to end the "armed intefadeh."

"I am astonished, really," said Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a top Hamas official, saying Abbas "surrendered before pressure from the U.S. and Israel" and promising Hamas "will continue our resistance until achieving our goals" -- which include the destruction of Israel.