Middle East Online - 2007-01-10

Egypt, Jordan push Palestinian factions towards forming government of technocrats, national unity government.

CAIRO - Egypt and Jordan are trying to convince the Palestinian factions to form a national unity government, the Egyptian foreign minister told a news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Wednesday.

The two countries are pushing the Palestinian factions towards "an internal accord for the formation of a government of technocrats or a government of national unity," Ahmed Abul Gheit said.

The conference came during a visit by Jordan`s King Abdullah II to Cairo to discuss regional developments with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, especially the growing conflict between Palestinian factions.

"There is a Palestinian government that should be respected and that must be respected," said Abul Gheit, while stating that the authority of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas should be respected as well.

Forces loyal to the democratically elected Palestinian government of Hamas have been engaged in clashes with forces loyal to the Palestinian presidency for the past month with more than 30 people killed and 100 wounded in the Gaza Strip.

The factional fighting erupted after December 16, when Abbas called for early elections in a bid to resolve a months-long standoff with Hamas over forming a coalition government and Hamas rejected the move.

On Monday, Mubarak called on the Palestinians to "unify their ranks" to allow the establishment of a Palestinian state and relaunch the peace process.