Hamas, Fatah plan to meet in Damascus

Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas are scheduled to hold a meeting next week in the Syrian capital, Damascus, to discuss a reconciliation deal.

Officials from the Palestinian parties announced that the talks will be held on November 9, AFP reported on Tuesday.

Senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan expressed hope that the meeting would “achieve reconciliation and restore national unity on the basis of national principles and political participation.”

Azzam al-Ahmad of Fatah also confirmed the meeting in remarks carried by the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency.

The two sides had originally planned to meet on October 20 but postponed it following a row between the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority and Syria and Fatah’s demand to change the venue.

The meeting in Damascus comes after several rounds of meetings between the feuding factions hosted by Egypt, which yielded no fruit.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said next week’s meeting would focus on “outstanding issues such as security, with mutual determination to leave with an agreement that will allow us to sign the Egyptian document.”

He also noted that a delegation from Hamas in Gaza would take part in the talks, in addition to the Damascus-based head of the party’s political bureau, Khaled Meshaal.

Hostilities between Hamas and Fatah reached a breaking point a year after the 2006 general elections swept Hamas to power.

The Islamic resistance movement, however, had to limit its rule to the Gaza Strip following a coup plot by the Western-Backed Fatah.