The head of Palestinian group Hamas Ismail Haniyeh received an Egyptian delegation Sunday to oversee national reconciliation efforts between the movement and its rival group Fatah. The Egyptian delegation consists of Egypt's Ambassador to Israel Hazem Khairat and generals Hamam Abu-Zeid and Sameh Kamel, said the media director of the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority Mohamed El-Makadma, according to the Palestinian Maan News Agency. Hamas had previously demanded that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas halt a series of measures taken against the movement before sitting down to discuss reconciliation. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum issued a statement Sunday saying the movement welcomes the visit and expressing appreciation for Egyptian efforts to end the intra-Palestinian dispute and encourage national reconciliation. As a first step on the track to Palestinian reconciliation, the Islamist group is set to hand over power in the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian unity government.
