Egypt says to continue contact with all Palestinian factions

Egypt will continue contacts with all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, a senior official said on Saturday.

Presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad made the remarks on Egypt's stance regarding Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call for early parliamentary and presidential elections.

Palestinian infighting is a red line that should not be crossed and Egypt has always called on all Palestinians to take a united stance, Awwad said in a statement.

Awwad said that Egypt also called on the Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace negotiations and begin with a prisoner swap agreement and end with a summit between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el- Sheikh.

There was a similar summit between former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Abbas in Sharm el-Sheikh in February 2005, Awwad added.

Earlier in the day, Abbas called for early parliamentary and presidential elections in spite of opposition from the ruling Hamas movement, which rejected such a call immediately.

Source: Xinhua