13 Palestinian factions including Hamas and Fatah ended on Tuesday evening the first session of their national reconciliation talks which are held in Cairo under the auspices of the Egyptian intelligence agency.
According to informed sources the first meeting of the Cairo talks started at 09:00 am and was overshadowed by the issue of empowering the government in Gaza.
The participating factions however are determined to discuss six national files in accordance with the reconciliation agreement that was signed last October in Cairo between Hamas and Fatah.
The participants stressed the need to swiftly end the punitive measures imposed by the Palestinian Authority leadership on Gaza but the Fatah delegation did not provide any answer in this regard or when the sanctions would be lifted.
Delegations from the participating factions arrived in Cairo on Monday to attend the Egyptian-sponsored talks to discuss and agree on sensitive national issues.
