Delegations representing Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas will head to Cairo next week to agree on nominees for their anticipated national unity government, according to a Hamas political bureau member, Salah al-Bardawil. Bardawil said a panel of officials from Egypt, Qatar and other Arab states has been formed to follow up on the points agreed upon in the reconciliation deal signed by both factions in Cairo on 3 May. The deal, which ended a four-year rift between both groups, stipulates the establishment of a national unity government to run the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-governed West Bank, while preparing for general elections within a year. In a meeting with students from the Islamic University of Gaza, Bardawil said that restructuring Palestinian security is under consideration, noting that security authorities in Gaza and the West Bank will remain unchanged for the time being. "The Palestinian Legislative Council will be put into action once the government is formed, and will practice its role of government oversight, in addition to studying the status of its members detained by Israel," he said. Bardawil noted that the Egyptian revolution played a major role in completing the reconciliation pact. He said Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak made reconciliation more difficult by rejecting Hamas remarks on the Egypt-brokered pact. Translated from the Arabic Edition
