CAIRO: Fearing that Palestinian infighting will lead to a complete collapse of law and order in Palestine, President Hosni Mubarak issued Monday a stern message to the rival factions to halt the violence.
It is the Palestinian people who will pay the price of these conflicts between the Palestinians, Mubarak told the official Mena news agency.
Some 16 people have died in clashes, the latest reported over the weekend, despite frequent attempts to bring about a lasting ceasefire and agreement between the Hamas-led government and the Fatah faction, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
“I call on the leaders to unify the ranks of the different factions and come up with a single position … in negotiations with the Israelis, he said.
The President’s statements are not new and come on the heels of repeated efforts by the Foreign Ministry to assist the rival factions in reaching a compromise.
Egypt mediated a fresh truce between warring Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah in Gaza late December 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 Shoura 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.
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.
With additional reports by AFP
