France urges Palestinians to overcome internal disputes

The French government on Monday called on the Palestinians to put an end to internal bickering and focus on future stability and cohesion. The call came in the wake of the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who has regularly clashed with President Mahmud Abbas over policies. "At a time when there is a doubling of international efforts to restart the peace process, France wants the Palestinians to find the means to overcome internal differences and to favour the path of peace and unity," a Foreign Ministry statement said. The statement also paid homage to Fayyad for his "contribution...in building the institutions of a future Palestinian state." "It was this action...which allowed international financial institutions to remark that the Palestinian Authority had passed the threshold for establishing a functional and well-managed state," Paris said. France had been a strong supporter of the efforts at Palestinian statehood and Paris organised a major international donors' conference here in 2007 that raised some usd 7.4 billion in pledges for the Palestinian state and fledgling institutions. "We also praise the performance of Salam Fayyad in the area of managing public finances," the Foreign Ministry said. France said that the proper and effective management of public finances by the Palestinians must continue to maintain the credibility of the Palestinian Authority in the eyes of the international community. Ramallah was also urged to take steps to bolster economic development in the territories, which would help restore confidence between the parties.