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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Abbas leaves Gaza for Saudi Arabia |
| 2006-11-21 |
| GAZA CITY - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas left Gaza on Monday for talks in Saudi Arabia focused on the quest for a Palestinian unity government and international efforts to jumpstart the peace process. Abbas, who was due to meet King Abdullah, left via Egypt after Palestinian officials said talks between his secular Fatah party and the ruling Islamist movement Hamas on forming a unity cabinet had run into new snags. His departure for Saudi Arabia comes several days after France, Italy and Spain launched an initiative calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East. The Saudi monarch and French President Jacques Chirac discussed the proposal in a telephone conversation on Friday. Riyadh favours holding an international conference on the Middle East in order to put an end to Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territories and revive the stalled peace process. |
| Posted by:Steve White |