Special report: Internal situation in Palestine

    UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon conferred by telephone on Friday with his three international partners in the Middle East peace process on latest moves following Palestinian agreement on a national unity government, UN spokesperson Michele Montas said.

    Montas told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York that Ban held preliminary consultations with the others members of the diplomatic Quartet, which includes the United Nations, Russia, European Union and the United States.

    "They all agreed that the initiative by King Abdullah was commendable and welcome," she said, referring to the Saudi Arabian monarch who brought Palestinian Fatah and Hamas representatives together for unity talks in Mecca, Islam's holiest city.

    In a statement released on Thursday night, Ban called the agreement on a national unity government a "very important step forward," voicing the hope that it "will curb the violence, creating a better future for the Palestinian people."

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya signed on Thursday an agreement on forming a Palestinian national unity government after Mecca talks under the sponsorship of Saudi King Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Aziz.

    The Mecca deal consists of four major points. The first calls for ending all kinds of fighting among Palestinians, and the second is the formation of a national unity government.

    The third and fourth points in the agreement are related to the formation of Palestine Liberation Organization and also manifesting the political partnership among all Palestinian powers and factions.