Several Palestinian leaders took off to several countries in an attempt to gather international support to the new Palestinian deal of a national unity government by lifting the international embargo that was placed after Hamas achieved an overwhelming victory in the legislative elections last year.
Hamas and Fateh leaders, represented by Hamas' Political Bureau Chief, Khalid Mashal, and the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, signed a unity government deal in Mecca – Saudi Arabia last Thursday.
Several international countries said that they want to study the deal first and to see how it changes the situation on the ground.
Meanwhile, Nabil Amr, an aide to Abbas, said on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority (P.A) is trying to garner international support to the unity government agreement.
President Abbas is sending Amr to Germany which is currently holding the rotating presidency of the European Union. After his visit to Germany, Amr will be heading to Belgium to meet with the EU's chief foreign policy envoy, Javier Solana.
Amr stated that the P.A hopes that Europe will support the new unity government deal and lift the siege imposed on the government.
President Abbas is hoping that personal diplomacy with members of the Quartet will create the momentum that would end the embargo which was placed on the P.A after Hamas won the legislative elections.
The Quartet is demanding Hamas to recognize Israel, “renounce violence”, and accept the past peace agreements.
The Mecca deal signed between Hamas and Fateh, states that the new government pledges to respect the signed deals. Israel says that the deal failed to meet the Quartet demands.
Meanwhile, President Abbas phoned several Arab leaders in recent days to guarantee their support, and on Tuesday he will meet with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
After leaving Mecca on Saturday, Abbas when to Egypt for talks with Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak.
Dr. Sa'eb Erekat and Yasser Abed-Rabbu, both aides to Abbas, met on Friday with the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington before heading to New York for a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Israeli online daily Haaretz reported.
Rice said that the US still needs to see how the agreement is carried out on the ground, and that the US is still skeptical that Hamas would abide by it.
She added that the US wants to make sure that no homemade shells will be fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, the official Israel response will be given on Sunday after a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. The United States is still waiting for the Israeli response before deciding how to officially reach to the deal.
