Palestinian President Mahmou Abbas Photo: AFP
Rival Palestinian groups announce signing of initial agreement ending four-year-old rift. Deal calls for formation of interim government in coming days, preparations for elections year from now
News agencies
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Palestinian officials from the rival Fatah and Hamas movements say they have reached an initial agreement on ending a four-year-old rift that has left them divided between rival governments in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The officials say the plan calls for the formation of a single caretaker government in the coming days, and preparations to hold presidential and legislative elections a year from now.
"The two sides signed initial letters on an agreement. All points of differences have been overcome," Taher Al-Nono, the Hamas government spokesman in Gaza, told Reuters. He added that Cairo would shortly invite both sides to a signing ceremony.
The accord was first reported by Egypt's intelligence service, which brokered the talks.
"The consultations resulted in full understandings over all points of discussions, including setting up an interim agreement with specific tasks and to set a date for election," Egyptian intelligence said in a statement.
In a statement carried by the Egyptian state news agency MENA, the intelligence service said the deal was hatched by a Hamas delegation led by Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of the group's politburo, and Fatah Central Committee member Azzam al-Ahmad.
It said the agreement would allow Egypt to invite all Palestinian factions to sign a national reconciliation agreement in Cairo in the next few days.
Al-Ahmad and Abu Marzouk said the agreement covered all points of contention, including forming a transitional government, security arrangements and the restructuring of the Palestine Liberation Organization to allow Hamas to join it.
A senior Egyptian intelligence official told Reuters that he expected Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, who is based in Damascus, to attend the signing of the agreement in Cairo.
Despite the agreement, key questions remain about who will control the rival security forces.
Disagreements over security control erupted into the June 2007 civil war that ended with Hamas seizing control of Gaza.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Palestinian plan to declare an independent state hurts their commitment to peace talks with Israel and an accord. "The accord can only be achieved through negotiations," he told US senators.
AP, Reuters and Elior Levy contributed to this report
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| First Published: | 04.27.11, 18:36 |
