Malaysia called on rival Palestinian factions to sort out their differences after international talks in Kuala Lumpur were overshadowed by a row between the Hamas and Fatah representatives.

Mahmud al-Zahar, the head of Hamas in its Gaza Strip stronghold, quit the delegation on the eve of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) talks in protest over the arrival of Fatah's Faruq Qaddumi as head of the Palestinian delegation.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said that if the Palestinian leaders wanted to be respected they should project a united front.

"If there are any differences or disputes between them, it is for them to sort it out. We support the Palestinian cause, the Palestinian struggle, the result of the free election but we don't want to get involved in any dispute between them," he said.

Not a mistake

"It will be a pity if... all of us continue to support the struggle of the Palestinian people but the Palestinian people seem to be not in unity. That is not good."

Syed Hamid dismissed al-Zahar's criticism of host country Malaysia for allowing both the rival representatives to attend.

"There is no such thing as a diplomatic mistake. The mistake wasn't on the part of Malaysia," he said.

"I do not want to get into a debate with Mr al-Zahar. He can have whatever opinion he wants to have. The feeling of the meeting is very clear. Yes, we are for the Palestinian cause but the Palestinians must create unity among themselves."