Hamas, Fatah agree to form unity govt: Official

GAZA CITY

Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have agreed on forming a national unity government, a Palestinian official said Wednesday.

"The two rivals have agreed during the second dialogue session to immediately start the formation of a national unity government," Mustafa Barghouti of the Palestinian Initiative Party, a member of a Fatah-led delegation that arrived in Gaza on Tuesday for reconciliation talks, told Anadolu Agency.

"They have also agreed to set a date for the legislative and presidential elections," he added.

According to Barghouti, the government will be formed within five weeks and the elections will be held in six months.

Barghouti had earlier told AA that the two rival groups had made tangible progress during their first reconciliation meeting in Gaza, which lasted until the early hours of Wednesday.

"All parties expressed willingness to end Palestinian divisions once and for all," Barghouthi, who attended the Tuesday meeting, said.

Ties have remained strained between Hamas – which governs the Gaza Strip – and Fatah – which runs the Palestinian Authority – since 2007, when Hamas routed pro-Fatah forces and seized control of the entire strip.

Continued conflict between Hamas and Fatah obliged the former to set up its own government in Gaza, while Fatah did the same in Ramallah in the West Bank.

In 2011, the two factions hammered out a reconciliation deal under Egyptian sponsorship. The following year, the two sides agreed to form a unity government – to be headed up by PA President Mahmoud Abbas – to pave the way for parliamentary polls.

The terms of the agreement, however, were never implemented.

Palestinians agree on unity govt, simultaneous polls

Palestinian factions have signed a deal that aims to end the longstanding schism between rivals Fatah and Hamas, according to which a new government will be formed within weeks with simultaneous presidential and parliamentary polls to follow later this year.

"I congratulate our people on the end of years of Palestinian division," Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told a press conference at his home in Gaza City also attended by members of a Fatah-led delegation from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which was dispatched to Gaza by President Mahmoud Abbas.

Gazans celebrate deal ending Palestinian rifts

Scores of Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza City on Wednesday to celebrate a deal between rival factions Hamas and Fatah ending years of division.

Waving the flags of Hamas and Fatah, revelers gathered in western Gaza City and called on the two factions to overcome pressures and achieve inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that Hamas and Fatah had signed a deal aimed at ending their longstanding rifts.

Egypt welcomes Palestinian reconciliation deal

Egypt on Wednesday welcomed a deal ending years of division between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas.

"We hope the deal will end Palestinian rifts and help the Palestinians obtain their legitimate rights in peace talks [with Israel]," the Foreign Ministry said in a Wednesday statement.

Ramallah-based Fatah and Gaza-based Hamas signed a deal on Wednesday aimed at ending their longstanding differences.

Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said both sides had agreed to the terms of two previous agreements signed in Cairo and Doha.

Qatar congratulates Gaza PM on deal ending Palestinian rifts

Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Atiyahon Wednesday congratulated Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on a deal to end Palestinian divisions.

"The Qatari foreign minister has sent a cable of congratulations to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on the deal to end the [inter-Palestinian] schism," Haniyeh's spokesman Taher al-Nounou told Anadolu Agency in Gaza.

Ties have remained strained between Hamas – which governs the Gaza Strip – and Fatah – which runs the Palestinian Authority – since 2007, when Hamas routed pro-Fatah forces and seized control of the entire strip.

Continued conflict between Hamas and Fatah obliged the former to set up its own government in Gaza, while Fatah did the same in Ramallah in the West Bank.

Earlier this year, Haniyeh declared 2014 to be "the year of Palestinian reconciliation," announcing that Fatah members who fled the Gaza Strip in 2007 were welcome to return, except for those charged with wrongdoing.

englishnews@aa.com.tr