Mahmoud Abbas (R) will still have deep differences to resolve with Hamas Palestinian factions agree pact
Mahmoud Abbas (R) will still have deep differences to resolve with Hamas The leaders of the two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, are due to sign a reconciliation pact in Cairo aimed at ending their four-year rift.
Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Meshaal have not met since the expulsion of Fatah from Gaza in 2007 following the shock Hamas election victory a year earlier.
The agreement paves the way for a joint interim government ahead of national elections next year.
The recent Arab uprisings have given fresh momentum to reconciliation.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had been wary of bolstering Hamas, but the new Cairo government has adopted a less hostile stance towards the Islamist group.
Correspondents say it is a first sign of how political changes in the Arab world could affect the dynamic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
When the two rival Palestinian leaders appear in Cairo later today to sanction this agreement, they will carry with them the hopes of millions of Arabs for an end to the infighting that has so weakened the Palestinian cause, says the BBC’s Jonathan Head in Cairo.
Fatah-Hamas RivalryJanuary 2006 – Hamas wins Palestinian Authority legislative electionMarch 2006 – Hamas government sworn in. US and EU suspend ties.February-March 2007 – Fatah and Hamas agree to form coalition to end growing factional warfareJune 2007 – Hamas seizes control of Gaza from Fatah after continued fighting. Unity government dissolved, Israel tightens blockade of Gaza Strip.
The first step after the agreement goes into effect is to form an interim government of technocrats whose task will be to work on reconciliation and prepare for new elections.
Leading members of Hamas and Fatah will stay out of this government for now.
But there are deep differences yet to be resolved, over whether to recognise and negotiate with Israel, and over how to share security in Gaza and the West Bank, our correspondent says.
The move has angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said the Palestinian Authority must choose either to make peace with Israel or with Hamas.
The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, which runs parts of the West Bank, and Hamas, which governs Gaza, have been divided for more than four years.
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