CAIRO: King Abdullah II of Jordan was in Cairo Tuesday to hold talks with senior Egyptian officials concerning the latest developments in the Palestinian territories.
The Jordanian monarch met with President Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit in an attempt to put a stop to the recent spate of clashes between Fatah and Hamas
They are also seeking a unified Palestinian stance vis-a-vis peace talks with Israel.
The latest infighting between the two ruling factions in the territories saw two killed and seven wounded in Gaza on Sunday as armed supporters of Fatah and Hamas continued clashes after a three week respite was broken the preceding Thursday.
Heavy gunfire between the factions resulted in three deaths last Thursday and Saturday. All in all, more than 50 Palestinians have been killed in the months of May and June as a result of the infighting.
Prior to his Cairo visit, Abdullah dismissed in an official statement the notion of creating a federation between Jordan and the Palestinian territories at this time.
Speaking at a meeting with ambassadors of EU countries in Amman, the monarch said, “The concept of confederation or Jordanian-Palestinian federation does not exist in our dictionary and we will not accept to talk about this subject at the present time.
He added that raising this issue was not in the interest of both peoples, and that maybe in the future, after the creation of a Palestinian state, Jordan would consider such a proposal if it is accepted by the people of the two countries.
Additionally, Abdullah urged the EU to continue seeking solutions for peace in this conflict, describing it as the main cause for turmoil in the region. He also praised EU efforts in resuming peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
On Monday the EU ended a 15-month embargo of the Hamas-led Palestinian government by resuming aid to the Ministry of Finance. It signed an agreement in which they would provide technical assistance and training of Palestinian Finance Ministry officials to the tune of 4 million euros.
The EU released a statement saying: “The European Union s first step will be a 4 million euro project to help the minister of finance in ensuring that Palestinian taxpayers money is spent efficiently and that all expenditures are accounted for to the highest international standards.
Aid to the Palestinian cabinet has been cut since Hamas won the elections in March 2006.
Additionally, the EU has requested Israel to release frozen Palestinian funds in customs duties seized by Israel since the same time period. According to the Palestinians, Israel is holding $600 million in tax receipts.
AFP quoted the European Commission’s John Kjaer as saying, “I take the opportunity to recall that the European Union continues to call on Israel to transfer to the Palestinians the money that Israel collects on their behalf.
