RAMALLAH, November 27 (JMCC) - A Hamas leader has told the Associated Press that Palestinian rival factions will maintain their respective governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip before possible elections in May.

The decision was said to have been made at a meeting in Cairo Thursday between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas head Khaled Meshaal. It was not publicly announced, and Fateh leader Azzam al-Ahmed has denied the report.

The move would put off the difficulty of forming a shared government between the rivals, as called for in a reconciliation deal signed last May.

Little progress has been made in implementing the deal. Talks had broken down over who would lead the caretaker government, although additional disagreements include how to unify the currently-split security forces and Hamas' role in the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Abbas had sought to reinstate current Prime Minister Salam Fayyad but his candidacy was opposed by Hamas, which views Fayyad as responsible for a security crackdown on its members in the West Bank.

Hamas won 2006 parliamentary elections in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, and in the fighting that followed took control of the Gaza Strip. Abbas' Fateh faction remains largely relegated to the West Bank.