George Mitchell opposes Palestinian unity

The United States has expressed opposition to an Egyptian-proposed initiative to heal rifts among Palestinian factions.

US special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, told head of Egyptian Intelligence, Omar Suleiman on Tuesday that the proposed plan to settle differences between Fatah and Hamas undermines Palestinian negotiations with Israel and must be stopped, reported.

Washington has specified that any reconciliation deal must include recognition of Israel as a "Jewish state", a condition strongly rejected by Palestinian factions including Fatah and Hamas.

The democratically-elected government of Hamas in Gaza and the Fatah movement of acting Palestinian chief, Mahmoud Abbas, which have been divided since 2007, were to sign the Egyptian-proposed reconciliation deal later this month.

But the relations between the two factions hit another setback following Abbas' controversial decision to withdraw support for a motion that could result in bringing senior Israeli officials to trial in an international criminal court for war crimes purportedly committed last December in Gaza.

Hamas maintains that the Palestinian Authority has betrayed the victims of the three-week war by bowing to US and Israeli pressure and called for a delay in the signing of the agreement with Fatah.

Some Hamas officials believe the PA's decision proves the allegations that Abbas' Western-backed government had cooperated with Tel Aviv during its offensive on Gaza, which left nearly 1,400 Palestinians dead.

Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit has also criticized Abbas over the move, saying his decision shows that he does not care about unity among Palestinian factions.

Fatah, which rules the West Bank, has already agreed to the Egyptian proposal, which calls for the formation of an advisory committee to oversee Gaza's security and the release of political prisoners. The initiative also calls for holding presidential and parliamentary elections in 2010.