Leaders of the rival Palestinian parties Fatah and Hamas marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan on Tuesday with pledges to seek unity at talks in Cairo in the coming weeks.
"We hope the current national dialogue sessions in Cairo will succeed in ending the division caused by a party that rejected the choice of the people," said top Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh. Fatah had "cooperated with the (Israeli) occupation against their people", he added, according to Reuters.
President Mahmoud Abbas marked the feast of Eid al-Fitr by laying flowers at a monument to fallen soldiers in Ramallah. "President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership are exerting great efforts for the success of the dialogue that Egypt is holding," his spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said. A deal in Cairo would pave the way to "comprehensive national dialogue that will be followed by a meeting of Arab foreign ministers", he added.
