Qatar and Saudi Arabia have stepped up their efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis in the Palestinian Authority, PA and Hamas officials said on Sunday. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal is in Saudi Arabia for talks with government officials on the crisis with PA President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party, while Hamas delegations have been invited to Qatar and other Arab countries that are acting as mediators between the two parties, the officials added. Mashaal is also expected to visit Qatar on his way back from Saudi Arabia. On Saturday night Abbas phoned the emir of Qatar and urged him to resume mediation efforts to resolve the impasse. | "Hamas does not care about the fate of the Palestinian people. They are smuggling all types of weapons, including heavy machine guns, into the Gaza Strip. They are also bringing a lot of cash." |
"These mediation efforts are designed to prevent a further escalation between Fatah and Hamas," explained a top PA official in Ramallah. "Qatar and Saudi Arabia are hoping that an agreement will avoid a scenario where Abbas is forced to fire the [Hamas] government and call early elections."