Leader of Palestinian Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh, announced on Thursday that the resistance group and its rival Fatah have reached a deal over political reconciliation.

“Fatah and Hamas reached an agreement at dawn today upon a generous Egyptian sponsorship,” Haniyeh said in a statement.

Reuters news agency quoted a Hamas official as saying that details are expected to be released at a noon news conference in Cairo, where unity talks between the rival factions began on Tuesday.

Fatah spokesman Osama Qawasmeh said Tuesday that the talks, which are being held under the auspices of the Egyptian Intelligence Directorate, would focus on enabling the PA to operate in Gaza.

“We want to extend the rule of law to Gaza as [has been done] in the West Bank,” Qawasmeh said in a statement.

Some three weeks ago, Hamas announced its readiness to hand responsibility for Gaza over to the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas Politburo member Ezzat al-Rishq, who is part of his party’s delegation in the Egyptian capital, wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday morning that Hamas “is pursuing, with desire and determination, a real national reconciliation with our brothers and partners in the homeland.”

Source: Websites