Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal urged his Arab counterparts to find a common vision on ways to heal the rift between the Palestinian factions. Chairing the Arab foreign ministers meeting here Wednesday to work out a deal with Hamas after it rejected reconciliation talks aimed at ending the division between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Prince Saud said any Arab efforts would bear fruit only when Palestinians stand together as one rank. He said the purpose of the meeting should to go beyond the routine appeal to the Palestinian brothers to end discord and move toward reconciliation. “We are required to remind them (Palestinian factions) of the compelling fact that they and Arab states should realize that the sole beneficiary of the continuation of the rivalry among the Palestinian factions was Israel,” Prince Saud said. He said recent international developments, including US presidential election and the trend of the elected US administration to develop new policies towards the region, augur well for the cause of the Palestinian people. He noted in this regard the interest expressed by US president-elect Barack Obama and his aides in the Arab peace initiative, his support for the vision of two independent states and readiness for commitment to Annapolis understandings. The meeting comes three days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement controls the West Bank, threatened to call elections early next year if his Hamas rivals controlling Gaza don't open reconciliation talks – an ultimatum that could deepen the rift. Arab League's secretary general Amr Moussa who called the Wednesday emergency meeting said Arabs should not accept any “political vacuum” in Palestinian Authority and not “tolerate a division in the Palestinian ranks.” Hamas has rejected Abbas' threat to call the elections, widely seen as an effort to pressure the group and pave the way for Abbas to restore his authority over Gaza. Hamas and Fatah have been bitter rivals and their confrontation escalated after Hamas fighters violently seized control of Gaza in June 2007. Abbas, who controls only the West Bank, enjoys backing from the international community, while the Hamas regime in Gaza is widely shunned. Repeated attempts at reconciliation have failed, most recently this month when Hamas abruptly canceled its participation in Egyptian-mediated talks in Cairo.
