By Alaa Shahine CAIRO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak put the onus on Palestinians to revive the peace process with Israel, saying on Saturday they cannot resume talks with the Jewish state without settling their internal differences first. Mubarak, a key regional mediator, also said the Palestinians were close to agreeing on a national unity government but gave no further details. "What is happening now is a problem among the Palestinians, and the Palestinian side cannot sit with the Israeli side while they have internal differences," Mubarak told a news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "We are now working on healing the rift between ... Hamas and Fatah and then we can reach the stage of dialogue and negotiations," he said. He also said that a deal must be brokered to release an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, in June. Egypt has openly blamed the Palestinians for the delay in a possible prisoner swap deal. Many in the West and Israel have blamed the latest fighting between the Islamist group Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah group for the absence of a breakthrough in the conflict. Most Arabs, on the other hand, blame Israel and the United States, its chief ally. Hamas and Fatah have been deadlocked in a power struggle since talks on a Palestinian unity government broke down in December, sparking clashes that killed more than 80 Palestinians. Mubarak, whose country is known for its influence over Fatah but lacks similar clout with the Syrian-backed Hamas, said: "We are working now on the national unity government. It is about to be finalised unless a surprises happens." At the urging of Saudi Arabia, Abbas and Hamas's political leader Khaled Meshaal will hold meetings in the holy Muslim city of Mecca on Tuesday to try to resolve their differences over the government. Egypt brokered a truce between the two groups on Tuesday but clashes resumed in Gaza shortly after the agreement, killing 23 people in the last three days and prompting another meeting on Saturday that resulted in a renewed ceasefire. The quartet of Middle East mediators -- the European Union, the United Nations, the United States and Russia, voiced concern on Friday about the violence but said it should not stop a U.S. push to revive long-stalled peace talks.
