Hamas, Fatah agree to implement unity deal

The leaders of rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have reached agreement to work towards implementing a unity deal, they signed two years ago.

The development came as the acting Palestinian Authority (PA) Chief, Mahmoud Abbas from the Fatah party and the Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, Khaled Meshaal met in Cairo on Thursday, the state-run BBC reported.

“The two parties agreed to call on all Palestinian factions to implement the reconciliation agreement,” Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau, was quoted as saying.

He added that the meeting, the first in 18 months, was held in “very good and promising atmosphere.”

In 2011, Hamas and Fatah signed a unity deal, which has not yet been implemented. The agreement was designed to lay the groundwork for the formation of a transitional government ahead of last year’s legislative election. But the process was halted.

On January 4, Abbas called on rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to end their five-year-long dispute and unite during a televised speech addressing his supporters in a massive rally, organized by the Fatah movement in the Israel-besieged Gaza Strip.

Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006.

The dispute marginalized Hamas governance to the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli regime also reacted to the victory by laying a crippling siege on Gaza and keeping the impoverished strip under regular deadly attacks.

Fatah, however, set up headquarters in the Israel-occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank.