Palestinian Unity Talks Are Back

Members of Palestinian Hamas delegation to Egypt, sitting from left: Faraje Ghoul, Mahmoud Zahar, Siyad Siam and Khalil al-Haya hold a press conference before crossing into Egypt though the Rafah terminal southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008. A high-level Hamas delegation has crossed into Egypt for talks with the country's intelligence chief as part of Egyptian efforts to mend the rift between Palestinian factions. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Egypt To Host Fatah And Hamas At Palestinian Unity Talks -- AFP

CAIRO (AFP) — Palestinian rivals Fatah and Hamas are to meet later this month in Cairo for Egyptian-mediated talks aimed at forming a unity government, a Hamas official said on Wednesday.

Musa Abu Marzuk, the number two official in Hamas's Damascus headquarters, made the announcement after a Hamas delegation met with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman to discuss an Egyptian proposal for a unity government.

"This was a good meeting, maybe this will prepare us to reach reconciliation. It was a good step," Abu Marzuk told journalists.

Suleiman's talks with the Islamist Hamas came after a string of meetings with a dozen Palestinian factions, including the Fatah party of president Mahmud Abbas, over the past two months to form a national unity government.

The Egyptian proposal includes a transitional government made up of ministers acceptable to all factions and a restructuring of Palestinian security forces with Arab oversight.

The proposal also provides for new parliamentary and presidential elections, after Hamas has said it will not recognise Palestinian Authority president Abbas after his mandate ends in January.

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'PA bracing for possible Hamas takeover' -- Jerusalem Post