CAIRO: Egypt mediated a fresh truce between warring Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah in Gaza late Tuesday in an effort to facilitate the forming of a national unity government.
Former Ambassador to Israel and member of the National Security Committee in the Shura Council Mohammed Bassiouny told The Daily Star Egypt that Egyptian officials are in contact with both the Israeli and Palestinian sides and were also advocating a unified Palestinian government.
“We want to get the Palestinians out of the bottleneck and the political disputes they are in, the former ambassador said.
“We must have a new government which will adhere to the wishes of the international community and the three stipulations set by the Quartet, which are the recognition of the state of Israel, the cessation of violence and the recognition of existing peace agreements, he added
By Wednesday the death toll had reached 10 in Gaza since President Mahmoud Abbas called for early elections last Saturday in an attempt to remove Western sanctions on the cash-strapped government.
A new government was needed for the situation to be resolved, Bassiouny believes. “We hope there is a new government that will be able to get this done so as to achieve our dream of peace for the Palestinians.
Sobhy Essaila, an expert from Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, had previously told The Daily Star Egypt that Egypt maintains a permanent delegation from General Intelligence which mediates between factions on matters of security, to prevent an outbreak of violence.
Abbas is due to visit Jordan Sunday to hold talks with King Abdullah II on how to solve the disputes in the territories. It is expected that Abbas will also meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
