Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has met separately with the President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas politburo Kahled Mashaal in Mecca, ahead of a meeting with both leaders together in an endeavor to cease internecine fighting and form a national unity government.Saudi official News Agency quoted King Abdullah saying in attendance of President Abbas ‘what is happening in Palestine serves only enemies of the Islamic nation’, adding ‘the continuation of infighting will sack the Palestinian the fruits of their long strife’.
In a meeting with Mashal and Prime minister Haneyeh , the king Abdullah said ‘the continuation of internecine fighting will eat away all their energies and waste all their accomplishments’.
We urge our brothers in Saudi Arabia to intervene to bridge the gaps to conclude an agreement’, said Nabil Amr, an Abbas advisor after the meeting. ‘The alternative is further deterioration and early elections’.
Reliable sources said that the meeting of the Saudi king with both delegations will open the door for preparatory meetings under the auspice of the Saudi monarchy. The talks stuck in two key blocks; recognition of Israel and normalizing relation with it, and the key ministerial portfolios in a national unity government.
Hamas’ refusal to recognize Israel and the previous agreement signed between Israel and PLO brought western aid cutoff and a consequent strangulating economic crisis.
Dr. Nabil Sha’th, Abbas key advisor, said that there has been a likely successful meeting as points of divergence shrunk.
In remarks in Al Douha , Sha’th said that Hamas movement will come to the meeting with new ideas and formulas that may be more acceptable concerning the issues of commitment to the previous peace agreements and the post of interior minister, the main stumbling block in forming unity government.
In Washington, Sean McCormack, USA Department of state Spokesman said ‘any such government should be internationally acceptable based on the Quartet principles’in reference to the three conditions set by the Quartet to bring back international aids; recognition of Israel, committment to previous agreements and abandoning violence.
On the other hand, three main newspapers in the occupied Palestinian territories (Al quds, Al Ayam, and Al Hyatt Al jadida ) are more optimistic than before about the results of talks in Macca.
In its main headlines Al Quds focused on the remarks by Saudi king Abedullah in which he asserted the talks will not end without agreement.
The paper also made links between the importance of Palestinian national agreement and facing the attacks against Al Aqsa mosque.
