RAMALLAH, Oct. 5 (JMCC)- The two largest Palestinian political parties,
Fateh and
Hamas, will continue reconciliation talks in Syria on October 20th, according to a senior Hamas official on Tuesday.
The two main Palestinian factions broke in June 2007 after open
conflict erupted in the
Gaza Strip, leaving over 100 people dead.
Efforts to bridge the divide between the two parties have so far proved unsuccessful. The latest round of talks was said to have been a measure of success, according to one Hamas official, prompting the sides to seek further chances in Damascus later this month.
He said the discussions would be aimed at forming a joint security committee as part of a process of reconciling the two movements.
The Islamist Hamas movement that controls Gaza and the secular Fatah movement led by Western-backed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas held talks last month in Damascus, where Hamas's exiled leadership is based.
The two movements struggled for months to reach a unity agreement through Egyptian mediation but those efforts came to a halt in October 2009 when Hamas refused to sign an agreement endorsed by Egypt and Fatah.
Read more at the AFP...