Hamas, Fatah to discuss national reconciliation

Prime Minister of Hamas authorities in Gaza Strip Ismail Haniya said on Sunday that a delegation from rival Fatah movement will arrive in Gaza next week to discuss the national Palestinian reconciliation. Haniya said in a brief news release that he had phoned Azzam al-Ahmad, Fatah official in charge of reconciliation file, and made arrangement for his visit. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas decided to send a delegation to Gaza to discuss the possibility of national reconciliation with Islamic Hamas movement which rules Gaza. Mustafa al-Barghouti, head of the Palestinian National Initiative and one of the delegates, told Xinhua that the visit is meant to discuss concrete mechanisms to form national unity government and set a date to hold public elections. Hamas took over Gaza in June 2007 after routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Abbas who now rules the West Bank. Since the beginning of the Palestinian rift, Hamas movement and Abbas' Fatah party have reached several deals to form a unity government that prepares for holding new elections. However, none of these deals were implemented as Hamas insisted that elections could not be held before controversial issues are resolved.