JEDDAH, 6 February 2007 — Saudi Arabia yesterday welcomed the positive response of Palestinians to an invitation to talks in Makkah extended by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and hoped the meeting would strengthen Palestinian unity.

“The Council of Ministers welcomed King Abdullah’s call for a meeting in the vicinity of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, without any interference from other parties,” the Saudi Press Agency said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh are expected to meet in Makkah today in a high-profile effort to end factional fighting that has killed around 80 people since December.

King Abdullah, Crown Prince Sultan and top officials including Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and Prince Muqrin, chief of intelligence, have already arrived here in preparation for the Makkah meeting.

King Abdullah invited the Palestinian leaders for the Makkah talks on Jan. 28. “I invite them all, without differentiating between them, for an emergency meeting in the vicinity of the Grand Mosque in Makkah in order to discuss issues of dispute without any bias and without any interference from any party,” the king said.

In an unprecedented appeal, Abdullah expressed his hope that the Makkah meeting would bring about a solution to the conflict in a way that will be acceptable to God and realizing the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people as well as Islamic countries and all those who have supported the Palestinian cause.

“We in Saudi Arabia are deeply saddened by what is happening in Palestine, the land of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first qibla of the Muslims,” Abdullah said about Palestinian infighting. He urged the Palestinian factions to settle their differences through dialogue, adding that the shameful infighting would tarnish the image of their national struggle.

The Cabinet meeting, which was held at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, said it hoped that the Makkah meeting would help the Palestinian leadership to discharge its responsibilities toward the people. “We hope that all countries in the region will consider that the unity of the Palestinian people and their leadership serves everybody’s interest,” the Cabinet said in a statement.

In comments published yesterday, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa urged Palestinian leaders to attend the Makkah meeting in a spirit of mutual understanding. He described Palestinian infighting as a national tragedy, warning that its continuation would be suicidal.

OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu emphasized the importance of the Makkah meeting and urged Palestinian leaders to make use of the golden opportunity to settle their differences in an amicable manner. He was talking to reporters in Cairo after meeting with President Hosni Mubarak.

Ihsanoglu spoke about a three-point plan of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to stop the Palestinian infighting. The plan calls for halting the fighting; the setting up of a committee to probe the reasons for the resumption of fighting; and the facilitation of efforts for the formation of a national unity government.

During the Cabinet meeting, King Abdullah briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Cabinet called on Germany and the European Union to play an effective role in Middle Eastern issues such as Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon as well as in boosting the region’s development.

The Cabinet approved a number of concessions for contractors. It said contractors will be given 10 percent of the project (not more than SR50 million) at the time of signing an agreement in lieu of a bank guarantee for the amount. The Saudization rate for workers in the sector will be reduced to five percent. But Saudis must be given priority in administrative jobs. Technical jobs for which qualified Saudis are not available should not be Saudized. The state will bear the fees for the sponsorship transfer of workers, technicians and supervisors involved in continuous contracting works. Foreign contracting companies will receive the same benefits received by Saudis.