Egypt Will Host Mideast Summit

Abbas and Olmert to meet in effort to isolate Hamas

By Caroline Zimmerman, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 21, 2007 6:21 PM CDT

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Egypt Will Host Mideast Summit — In this photo released by the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, gestures while delivering a speech during a meeting with the centeral executive committee meeting at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday June 20, 2007. (AP Photo/Palestinian... (Associated Press)

Alarmed by the Hamas takeover in Gaza, Egypt will host a summit Monday, bringing together the Western-backed Palestinian president and the Israeli PM, along with Jordanian and Egyptian leaders, Reuters reports. The move is a show of support for the moderate Mamoud Abbas-led emergency government, and an effort to isolate Hamas, reports the AP.

Israel's Arab neighbors are concerned that Hamas gains in Gaza might inflame Islamic radicalism in their own countries. Abbas, who referred to Hamas as “murderous terrorists,” hopes the meeting will help move the Israelis to release some of the $560 million in Palestine funds embargoed because of Hamas' role in the government, the New York Times reports.
(More Palestine stories.)

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