Cairo - A landmark four-way Middle East summit was to get underway in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh later Monday between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan. The summit is the first such meeting since Abbas dissolved the Hamas-led Palestinian cabinet in the wake of the Islamist movement's forcible takeover of the Gaza Strip, appointing an interim government that was immediately hailed by many Arab and international states.
According to Egyptian state newspaper al-Ahram, Monday's summit is expected to be a show of support for Abbas' emergency government and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Mubarak called the summit in the wake of the recent dramatic developments in Gaza, where in five days of savage fighting Hamas gunmen routed their opposite numbers from Abbas' Fatah party.
In response Abbas dissolved the Hamas-Fatah unity government and appointed a new cabinet, based in the West Bank, and headed by independent lawmaker Salam Fayyad, an internationally-respected economist.
The Fayyad government contains no representatives from Hamas, which won the January 2006 legislative elections in the Palestinian Territories.
Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad told reporters that issues topping the agenda at Monday's summit included putting a stop to Israeli aggression, discussing ways of accelerating the peace process in addition to "giving hope to the Palestinian people in forming an independent Palestinian state."
A day ahead of the high-profile meeting, sacked Palestinian Premier Ismail Haniya of Hamas had slammed the summit, saying that "the Israelis and the Americans will not give us anything and our country will be returned by resistance and endurance."
Haniya also accused the Israeli occupation of boosting divisions among Palestinians by supporting the new emergency government Abbas formed in the West Bank.
"The occupation tightened the siege on Gaza, showered Ramallah with money, released tax revenues and tries to make political manoeuvres by holding summit conferences these days," he said.
The new emergency government has however gained the support of Saudi Arabia, a key player and a regional power broker, according to reports.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is due in Amman Wednesday for talks with Jordan's King Abdullah on the Gaza rift and the latest development in the Palestinian Territories.
The Saudi king's visit to Jordan adds significance to Monday's visit, according to observers.
Meanwhile, Abbas' meeting with Olmert on Monday is the first since April.
