Haniyeh: Cairo talks must end divisions

Gaza’s Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has expressed hopes that meetings in Cairo, between Egyptian and Palestinian leaders from both Fatah and Hamas, would herald a “new phase in Palestinian reconciliation,” ending years of factional division. Haniyeh renewed calls for reconciliation between the two factions. Palestinian unity should be based on “valid grounds,” while embracing resistance and protecting the rights of the Palestinian people, the Prime Minister announced in a press statement on Wednesday evening. The Hamas administration had taken steps to demonstrate its “sincere intentions” towards Fatah, Haniyeh claimed. He hoped to see similar steps taken from the other side in the West Bank, he added. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and exiled Hamas exiled Khaled Meshaal will begin reconciliation talks at 2030 hrs on Wednesday, in a meeting presided over by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. An Egyptian presidential spokesman said that Abbas and Meshaal will meet with Egyptian intelligence chiefs before attending the tripartite meeting in Cairo.