JERUSALEM, April 28, 2011 (WAFA) – European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton Thursday supported Palestinian reconciliation efforts, but said she was still following developments before making a final response to it.

'On behalf of the EU, I am following the decision to form an interim Palestinian government with great interest,” said Ashton in a statement. “The EU has consistently called for peace and reconciliation, under the authority of President Abbas, leading to an end to the division between the West Bank and Gaza and in support of greater security and stability across the region.”

Ashton said that she “will study the detail of this agreement and discuss with colleagues in the EU and in the region.'

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, also expressed strong support for reunification between the West Bank and Gaza.

“The United Nations strongly supports all efforts for progress towards reunification of Gaza and the West Bank within the framework of the commitments of the Palestine Liberation Organization, on which progress is overdue,” he said in a statement published Thursday.

“Reunification is essential for achieving a two-state solution that should be reached through negotiations,” he said.

Serry said he hopes that “reconciliation will now take place in a manner that promotes the cause of peace and will continue to follow developments closely.”

M.A.