Fatah and Hamas officials meet in Cairo

Officials from Palestinian movements, Hamas and Fatah, are to meet in Cairo on February 27 to discuss next month’s elections, a Palestinian official said here Monday. Azzam Al-Ahmad, member of Fatah’s central committee and head of the movement’s delegation to the talks, was talking to reporters after a meeting with Egyptian foreign minister Mohammad Kamel Amr, according to Kuwait News Agency. Amr voiced relief for the steady progress of the Egyptian-brokered Palestinian conciliation, said Al-Ahmad, brushing aside that the conciliation process has been halted. Al-Ahmad said he briefed Amr over registration of voters in Gaza Strip, and that committees formed by Palestinian factions were implementing the Egyptian paper related to conciliation. He said he and Amr also discussed the Israeli settlement expansion, US President Barack Obama’s forthcoming visit to the region and ways of pushing forward the peace process.