Arab nations back Palestinian president

Arab nations threw their support behind the leadership of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, but also urged an immediate halt to infighting so that the unity of Palestinian lands can be preserved.

Arab League foreign ministers gathered for an emergency session on how to deal with the Palestinian split after militant Hamas gained full control of the Gaza Strip.

"We are seeking a national unity in Palestine and we stand against the events that we have witnessed in the last days," said Arab League chief Amr Moussa, adding there must be an "immediate and full halt" to the violence.

Moussa said that Arab nations want to "serve the Palestinian cause, and not one faction against another."

Meanwhile, in a stark message to Hamas militants in control of Gaza, Egypt pulled its diplomatic mission out of the coastal strip, citing security reasons.

Abbas, of Fatah, moved quickly to cement his rule in the West Bank after losing Gaza in a swift five-day Hamas assault on his forces. He replaced the prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, with Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, an internationally respected economist.

The Arab League backed Abbas' decision, saying the "legitimacy of his leadership" must be respected.

Jordan underlined its backing for Abbas' government. Roughly half of Jordan's 5.5 million population is Palestinian, and the kingdom fears instability on its own soil if the fighting spreads to the neighboring West Bank.

The government rejects "any dissent or defiance to the legitimate authority" and stressed "the necessity to protect the Palestinian National Authority and its President Mahmoud Abbas," spokesman Nasser Judeh said in a statement carried by the official Petra news agency.

Jordan's King Abdullah called Abbas to express sadness for the situation in Gaza and called for an immediate end to the infighting, Petra reported.

Egypt has beefed up security on its border with Gaza to prevent any mass influx of Palestinians. Long term, it faces the possibility that the impoverished coastal strip of 1.4 million people _ already awash in weapons _ could become a breeding ground of militancy that could bleed over the porous border.

Close to 100 Fatah officials crossed into Egypt from Gaza Strip in the early hours Friday, fleeing the Hamas takeover, Egyptian police said.

Egypt's state MENA news agency quoted Saudi's foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal as asking the Arab League in dismay whether Palestinians had forgotten a commitment made in Mecca earlier this year to "unite and never to fight."

Arab states face a tough choice on how to deal with Gaza. They could try to engage with Hamas leaders in a bid to salvage some form of unity government _ but emboldened Hamas militants may be even less likely now to make concessions.

The alternative is a harder line, isolating Gaza and Hamas, a policy likely to plunge the territory deeper into poverty and turmoil.

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Associated Press writers Omar Sinan in Cairo, Egypt, and Shafika Mattar in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.