Delegations from Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah will meet in Cairo to discuss the enforcement of their reconciliation agreement, Fatah central committee member Azzam al-Ahmad said Wednesday. Ahmad told the state-run news agency MENA that the dates of the meetings will be set after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas finishes his tour of Arab countries. The first meeting will address ways to implement the reconciliation agreement, while the second will look into the future of Palestinian strategy, with which Khaled Meshaal, head of the Hamas political bureau, agreed to cooperate, Ahmad said. The announcement comes one day after the first stage of the prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel, and after Egypt's foreign minister made a plea to both factions to reach a breakthrough in the reconciliation process. Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in May, sponsored by the Egyptian government, but conflict later arose over implementation of the agreement over several meetings, the most recent of which was in Beirut on 13 September. Fatah is insisting on naming current Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as head of the upcoming government, which Hamas rejects.
