Italian PM says Palestinian divisions hurt the peace process

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said Saturday that continued Palestinian divisions will hurt chances to move forward the Middle East peace process, particularly with a US-sponsored conference in the offing. Prodi is on a two-day visit to Jordan to encourage talks between Israel and the Palestinians and is scheduled to meet Jordan's King Abdullah on Sunday. "Divisions between Palestinians will not help the peace process," he told reporters in a press conference with his Jordanian counterpart Marouf al-Bakhit following their talks in Amman. "I'm sure the Palestinian divisions will bring negative consequences for any future development in the area," Prodi added, saying Hamas needed to respect prior peace agreements.