Hamas official: Factions to meet again in December

Senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan said Thursday that Hamas and Fatah will meet again in Cairo in December to progress today's discussions on the unity deal. Radwan said Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal and Fatah leader President Mahmoud Abbas agreed at their Thursday meeting in the Egyptian capital "on common leadership and to hold a meeting of (Palestinian) factions on Dec. 20 to discuss what has been agreed upon." A meeting to "activate the leadership framework" will take place on Dec. 22, he added. The two leaders of Palestine's top political factions were meeting for the first time since they signed a reconciliation deal in the Egyptian capital in May. The agreement set out a path to a unity government of technocrats, to prepare for national elections within a year, but implementation had stalled in the intervening six months. The deal sought to end the rivalry that split Palestinians into separate administrations in 2007, with Hamas ruling the besieged Gaza Strip, and Fatah dominating the government in the West Bank. Abbas and Mashaal said after Thursday's meeting that they were united in their views on the way forward, and the terms of the deal would come into force shortly.