Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)
Governments in the region have made repeated attempts at securing stability between competing Palestinian factions since the founding of the Palestinian Authority.
Egypt has played a prominent role in these efforts as seen through its hosting of talks to ease tensions between Hamas and the PLO in 1995. The head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, Omar Suleiman, has been active in advocating for a Hamas-Israel ceasefire, as well as mediating between leaders of Hamas and Fatah.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s King Abdullah has been a leading voice on mediating between factions to focus on greater challenges, and worked in the past to bring the two sides together.
Egyptian and Jordanian work was complemented by Saudi Arabia hosting Fatah and Hamas leadership in Mecca, working out an accord in an attempt to end the factional violence and create a unified path toward a future two state solution.
