The Arab League in a meeting Friday night said that it supported the “integrity of the legitimate institutions of the Palestinian Authority,” while PA chief Mahmoud Abbas said that he would not speak with the new Hamas government in Gaza. Hamas head Khaled Mashalal in Damascus said that he respected Abbas, and that Hamas had “no intention of taking over the Palestinian Authority.”

European Union and Quartet officials also expressed support for Abbas Saturday. In a statement Saturday, the Quartet said that it “understood and supported the decision to disperse the Palestinian Authority cabinet and declare a state of emergency, given the grave circumstances” in Gaza.