Amman - European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering said Tuesday that the European Union was after the role of a "fair and objective partner" in world efforts, aimed at setting up a vital Palestinian state to live in peace with Israel.

In an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, Pottering made it clear THAT the EU would not deal with Hamas until the Islamist militant movement, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since June 2007, changes its policies and becomes part of a Palestinian "consensus government."

Washington  - The special US envoy for the Middle East, George Mitchell, has begun his second trip seeking to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Mitchell arrived Tuesday in London for talks with British officials and will later head to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Israel and the West Bank, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

Cairo  - A delegation from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas arrived in Cairo late on Tuesday from Damascus ahead of inter- Palestinian reconciliation talks being hosted by Egypt.

The seven-member delegation, headed by Mussa Abu Marzouq, deputy of Hamas' exiled political leader Khaled Meshaal, is to meet with Egyptian mediators during the visit.

Another Hamas delegation from the densely-populated Gaza Strip, headed by senior member Mahmoud al-Zahar, was also due to participate in the talks.

Oslo  - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks Tuesday with Norwegian officials, focusing on the humanitarian plight in Gaza and prospects for peace.

Abbas, currently touring several European capitals, met Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

The Palestinian Authority leader told reporters that he supported a national unity government between Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, and his own Fatah party.

Stoltenberg said that Norway's main "concern now is the humanitarian situation in Gaza. There is a desperate need for food, medical supplies and other humanitarian aid."

Ankara  - Israeli prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu should recognize Palestine as a state if Israel genuinely wants lasting peace in the Middle East, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday night.

Keeping up his fierce criticism of Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip, Erdogan said the only solution to the problem is for Hamas to be brought to the negotiating table.

Washington  - The United States intends to provide a "substantial" amount of aid for rebuilding the Gaza Strip in the wake of the three-week Israeli assault in the tiny enclave, a US official said Monday.

"We want to give a substantial contribution" next month at the Egyptian-hosted donor conference, the official said, without providing a figure.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to attend the international conference March 2 in Sharm el-Sheikh.