Anxious Arab states hold Gaza crisis talks

by Jailan Zayan
27 minutes ago



CAIRO (AFP) - Arab foreign ministers held crisis talks on the deadly dispute dividing the Palestinian territories on Friday amid dire warnings about the consequences of Hamas's seizure of the       Gaza Strip.

Ministers had been due to meet on Saturday at the request of Lebanon to discuss the latest killing of an anti-Syrian politician in that country.

But they brought their meeting forward after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas dissolved a three-month-old power-sharing government on Thursday and the Islamists of Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, leaving Abbas and his       Fatah movement based in the occupied       West Bank.

Arab League ambassadors have appealed to both Hamas and Abbas's secular Fatah faction to return to Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation talks, warning that the failure of such talks could have "deeply negative consequences."

Before the meeting, league Secretary General Amr Mussa held talks with the head of the Palestinian delegation, Azzam al-Ahmed from Fatah, who was deputy prime minister in the sacked unity government.

Abbas on Friday tasked political independent Salam Fayyad with forming an emergency government but Hamas swiftly rejected the move as a "coup against legitimacy and a transgression of all laws".

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, whose country brokered a Palestinian unity government deal in the holy city of Mecca in February, said the infighting was "realising Israel's dream."

"Through their fighting, our Palestinian brothers have realised Israel's dream of setting alight the fire of discord and war between Palestinians," he told the meeting's opening session.

"Today, the Palestinians are banging in the last nail in the coffin of the Palestinian cause," he said, appealing for dialogue.

Egypt -- evidently wary about the creation of an Islamic-run entity on its doorstep -- condemned Hamas's "seizure of power" recalled all its diplomatic and security personnel from the Gaza Strip, diplomatic sources said.

General Mohammed Burhan, who headed a permanent security delegation based in the Gaza Strip and mediated numerous ceasefire agreements between Hamas and Fatah, told AFP that he had already left Gaza for Cairo.

Egypt had been trying to broker a face-to-face meeting between the two sides but the breakdown of that effort was swiftly followed by the latest bout of fighting in which at least 113 people have been killed in a week.

Analysts warned that an Islamic state in Gaza could prove problematic for Egypt, which is battling to contain a strong Islamic opposition at home.

By Friday, Hamas fighters had taken control of all remaining institutions loyal to Abbas in Gaza, leaving the Arab League's call looking a forlorn hope.

Egypt called on Hamas to accept Abbas's presidential authority after he declared a state of emergency and dissolved both parliament and the government on Thursday pending fresh elections.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit stressed the need to "respect legitimate Palestinian institutions, abide by a unified Palestinian decision, and respect the Palestinian National Authority... and its president Mahmud Abbas."

King Abdullah II of Jordan said he hoped the feuding sides would "engage in dialogue to come to an agreement to avert an explosive situation."

In a telephone call with Abbas on Thursday, he warned that the factional fighting "only serves the interests of the Palestinian enemies."

Arab newspapers have expressed concern that Hamas's seizure of Gaza would merely play into the hands of       Israel, giving it a pretext to spurn peace talks with the Palestinians and press ahead with settlement of the occupied West Bank.

An opinion piece in the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat appealed to Hamas not to torpedo Palestinian national unity for the sake of power in tiny and impoverished Gaza.

"Hamas's options will from now on be limited to the huge prison camp that is Gaza," warned columnist Maher Ossman.

"It would be disgraceful if Hamas's ambitions were confined to a trivial mini-state which will most likely be ignored," he added, calling for "a common national platform that would give the Palestinians a united voice."