CAIRO, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says Palestinians will never achieve their own state if they don't stop fighting among themselves.
In an interview with the A-Shark al-Awsat Egyptian news agency, Mubarak said Palestinians needed to put a national goal ahead of factionalism, or will remain stateless.
"If the struggle between the Palestinians continues, the Palestinian people will be the ones to pay the price," he said. "They will turn into fighters fighting each other, and the spirit of revenge will prevail."
Negotiations with Israel are being hobbled by a power struggle between Hamas, which controls parliament, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who also leads the Fatah party.
In the interview, Mubarak also called for Israel to work harder at reaching compromise with Syria, which he said was ready to enter peace talks, YNetNews reported.
Mubarak said he hoped to see negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and between Israel and Syria resume in the near future to set the peace process in motion and prevent the crisis from spreading further in the region.
