Dec 27 (Reuters) - Israel said on Wednesday it would resume attacks against Palestinian militants who fire rockets from the Gaza Strip but insisted it remained committed to a ceasefire. Below are answers to some questions about the truce: HOW LONG WILL THE CEASEFIRE HOLD? The month-old truce faces its toughest test. Israel had said it would show restraint despite continued rocket fire from Gaza, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert approved the change of policy after a "Qassam" wounded two teenagers in southern Israel on Tuesday. Although Israel said it remained committed to the truce, any deadly strike against militants in Gaza could quickly feed a spiral of violence that would put paid to the ceasefire. If a Palestinian rocket killed an Israeli, then Olmert would be under even greater domestic pressure to take tough military action. He already faces accusations of weakness from some opponents. WHAT HAS THE TRUCE DELIVERED? The ceasefire halted an Israeli offensive in Gaza aimed at recovering a soldier captured in a cross-border raid and significantly reduced rocket fire from Gaza into Israel. The truce was seized on by the United States and other Western countries as a new hope for reviving peace talks. It helped pave the way for a summit last Saturday between Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. After the summit, Israel promised to free $100 million in frozen tax revenues to Abbas, bypassing the Palestinian government led by Hamas Islamists. Israel has also suggested it could free some Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to Abbas, though there would be no major release until the Israeli soldier is freed by the militants holding him in Gaza. WHY HAS SOME ROCKET FIRE CONTINUED? The main groups behind the firing of dozens of rockets from Gaza have been Islamic Jihad, which fired the rocket that wounded the Israelis on Tuesday, and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of Abbas's Fatah movement. They say attacks have been a response to Israeli military actions in the West Bank, where no ceasefire was agreed. Islamic Jihad shares the ultimate aim of eliminating Israel with the Hamas Islamist movement, but it is not a major political player and has little to lose if there is a new surge in violence. WHAT HAPPENS TO PEACE MOVES IF THE CEASEFIRE FAILS? Any hopes for renewed peacemaking are tied to the lull in violence. The lesson of the past few years is that ceasefires fall apart very easily whatever the diplomatic weight behind them. Peace moves are in any case far from a resumption of talks on a final peace agreement -- to agree on borders for an eventual Palestinian state, decide the fate of Jerusalem and address the "right of return" demanded by Palestinian refugees. Full peace talks also look unlikely while the Palestinian Authority is under the control of Hamas, which defeated the moderate Abbas's Fatah in January elections. HOW COULD NEW VIOLENCE AFFECT THE PALESTINIAN CRISIS? If the truce collapsed and fighting with Israel resumed, it might bring Palestinians closer together and reduce internal violence, which has flared since Abbas called for new elections to end the crisis between him and Hamas. It would become much more difficult politically for Abbas to make any moves that might be seen as benefiting Israel in the midst of major violence. Hamas, seen as being at the forefront of the battle against Israel, could gain.
