By Alaa Shahine CAIRO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Romano Prodi of Italy, part of a south European initiative for Middle East peace, on Monday played down any expectations of rapid progress in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. "Nothing new on the Middle East arena," Prodi told a joint news conference after talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "The word that can summarise the atmosphere (of the talks) is patience. We need patience to find solutions," he said. His remarks were translated into Arabic through an interpreter. Italy, Spain and France agreed last week to work on a joint Middle East plan which includes a ceasefire, a Palestinian government of national unity, an exchange of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners, and possibly international observers. Israel was cool to the idea and the United States is working on its own planning, which could include an international peace conference in Jordan at the end of the month. It is not clear how either initiative fits into the Middle East "road map" launched in 2003 by the Quartet of international mediators -- the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia -- and previously seen as the only agreed framework for reviving talks on long-term peace. An incentive for action has been an Israeli offensive into Gaza, where more than 350 Palestinians have been killed since June, almost half of them civilians. Israel attacked after Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier. Asked about the peace conference idea, Prodi said: "We cannot reach a peace conference without mutual confidence between the parties concerned ... The peace conference is an end-point which we reach gradually if there is good will." Analysts say the new initiatives to revive talks hinge on an agreement between Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group and the governing Islamist group Hamas to form a national unity cabinet which Israel and the United States might deal with. Washington, Israel's chief ally, and the European Union want Hamas to renounce violence and recognise the Jewish state. In return they would lift the crippling sanctions imposed on the Palestinian Authority after Hamas won elections in January. Mubarak, a key Middle East mediator friendly with the United Sates, said there were still "many problems" between Fatah and Hamas. He said Cairo would soon host talks between Palestinian factions to bridge the gap but he gave no details. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, however, said in Damascus on Monday that talks with Fatah had come a long way. "We are discussing all details regarding the next administration, but we have nothing to gain by revealing them now," he said. "The atmosphere with Fatah is positive." A main issue to be worked out is guarantees Hamas is seeking through Abbas that forming the government would lead to an end to the sanctions, which are contributing to an economic crisis in Gaza and the West Bank.
