AMMAN: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is due in Jordan Monday to update top officials on efforts to form a Palestinian unity government before heading to Cairo on a similar mission, an official said.
Abbas was expected in Amman late Monday and would meet with Jordan s King Abdullah II on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments on the Palestinian scene , Palestinian ambassador Atallah Khairy told AFP.
After the meeting, Abbas would carry on to Cairo for similar talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Khairy said.
Feuding Palestinian factions agreed on an independent academic to head a new coalition government aimed at ending a crippling Western aid freeze after weeks of heated debate, sources from the two sides said Sunday.
Hamas proposed three names all of which were acceptable to president Abbas and Hamas indicated that their favored choice was Mohammed Shbeir, an Abbas aide said. Shbeir is a clinical biologist and former head of the Islamic University in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in an interview published Monday he was ready to talk to a Palestinian unity government, including Hamas if the Islamists bow to international demands to recognize the Jewish state.
Abbas consults frequently with Jordan and Egypt, the only two Arab countries to have peace treaties with Israel.
