Fatah, Hamas Agree to Continue the Meeting in Cairo Till Sunday
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Rival Fatah and Hamas movements, who held a session of inter-dialogue in Cairo on Saturday, agreed to hold another session to continue their debates on Sunday, Palestinian sources said.
The sources told the West bank-based news agency Maan that the discussions in today's meeting "are frank, in-depth and serious," adding "all outstanding issues were discussed on the table."
The sources said that issues of security, mutual arrests, elections and the joint faction coordination committee "were deeply debated in the session that included leaders from both movements."
The conferees agreed at the end of the session to meet again on Sunday, "hoping that the two sides can find a solution to all their outstanding issues before holding a last round of dialogue in Cairo on July 25," said the sources.
In case the two parties agree on their disputes, they would present it to the Egyptian mediators to call for chiefs of other Palestinian factions to convene to signing an agreement on July 28 in Cairo.
The sources said that "today's meeting has witnessed a deep clarification of the understanding of all the files, which urged the two sides to ask for extending the session until Sunday."
During the meeting, Hamas negotiators called for the release of its members detained in West Bank jails, according to the sources, adding "the Palestinian (National) Authority continues to release Hamas political prisoners."
In relation to Fatah prisoners in Hamas jails in Gaza, the sources said that the PNA considers holding them in jail "illegal" and told Hamas negotiators that controlling the Gaza Strip by force in June 2007 "was also illegal."
(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2009)