Palestinian unity deal welcomed globally

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said in a statement the league "fully supports Palestinian president Abbas in facing all the pressures applied on him by Israel".

 Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy welcomed a reconciliation deal reached between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) factions, Fatah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"Egypt hopes this deal will contribute to ending the Palestinian split and supporting the Palestinian position in peace talks with Israel," he said.

Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday urged Qatar and Turkey to provide political and financial support to Palestinian factions in order to help reconciliation between the parties succeed.

Palestinian sources in Gaza told Ma'an that Haniyeh had spoken with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar to update him on the unity deal signed Wednesday.

Sheikh Tamim said the move would be met with the complete support of Qatar.

Haniyeh also spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who asserted that Turkey will "strongly support the reconciliation agreement and offer all humanitarian aid."

Interim Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki also congratulated the Palestinians for reaching a reconciliation agreement and promised that Tunisia would provide political support.

The Tunisian official said the deal was a remarkable accomplishment for the Palestinian people.

PLO and Hamas representatives announced an historic unity deal on Wednesday to bring to an end more than seven years of political division between the main Palestinian political parties.

The deal set a timetable of five weeks to form a unity government, which would hold presidential and parliamentary elections within six months.

China's foreign ministry welcomed on Thursday a unity pact agreed between the Gaza-based Islamist group Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas' Palestine Liberation Organisation, saying Beijing hoped this would help peace talks with Israel.

China "believes this will be conducive to Palestinian unity, and fundamentally conducive to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine", foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a daily news briefing.

Meanwhile, Russian foreign ministry welcomed Palestinian unity deal and voices readiness to support Palestinians.

Former US president Jimmy Carter and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday welcomed the reconciliation agreement signed a day earlier between Hamas and the PLO.

"Palestinian reconciliation should not be seen as undermining prospects for a negotiated two-state solution," Kofi Annan said in a statement released by The Elders, an independent group of global leaders who work together for peace.

"On the contrary, any lasting peace with Israel will have to be predicated on a peace agreement with a unified and democratic Palestinian government exercising its authority in both the West Bank and Gaza."

Jimmy Carter commended the Palestinian factions for securing the agreement and urged all parties to implement it swiftly.

"Any remaining differences must be resolved peacefully. When the Palestinians elect a new leadership – provided the elections are conducted in accordance with international standards – I strongly urge the international community to respect the democratic choices of the Palestinian people," he added.

Israel and the United States both criticized the unity deal, saying that it threatens the peace process.

The announcement was immediately criticized by Israel and the United States, with Israel's security cabinet to meet Thursday to weigh its response to the deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted angrily to the agreement, accusing President Mahmoud Abbas of choosing "Hamas, not peace".

On Wednesday, the United States warned that the deal between the Palestinian leadership and Hamas threatened to scupper any chance of rescuing the talks.

"It's hard to see how Israel can be expected to negotiate with a government that does not believe in its right to exist," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.