Top Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat on Saturday stressed the need to form a national unity government to deal with the challenges imposed by the Israeli government, Syria's official SANA news agency reported.

"What is needed today is to form a national unity government to rebuild the Gaza Strip and hold presidential and legislative elections to empower the Palestinians in order to confront the challenges of the current Israeli government," Erekat said.

He noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent speech does not meet the Arabs' minimum demands.

In a speech delivered on June 14 at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu endorsed the creation of a Palestinian state, provided it was demilitarized. He also ruled out a halt to all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.

Erekat made the remarks after Syria President Bashar al-Assad held talks with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus.

The discussion between the two leaders was "comprehensive and positive," SANA quoted Erekat as saying.

"During the meeting, President Assad affirmed the need for exerting all possible efforts at the current time to build a strong Arab basis and speak as one tongue to confront (Israeli) challenges," Erekat added.

He also affirmed that Syria has played a significant role in inter-Palestinian dialogue, referring to its reconciliation efforts between Abbas' Fatah faction and Hamas.

(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2009)