By Xinhua,
GAZA : VEgypt has invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and leaders of different factions to join a conference to reconcile the feuding Palestinian groups later this month, Palestinian sources said Tuesday.
Khaled Mashaal, Damascus-based exiled leader of the Islamic Hamas movement, was also invited to the talks that are scheduled to start on Feb. 22, during which his movement is awaited to reconcile with its bitter rival Fatah movement led by Abbas, according to the sources.
The latest Egyptian drive took place after a 22-day Israeli offensive into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in December and January, claiming lives of over 1,300 Palestinians.
The sources noted that concerned committees will be set up to work on settling the differences between Hamas and Fatah in order to reunite the politically-divided Palestinian territories: the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-controlled West Bank.
The committees will also try to draft an agreement on forming a Palestinian unity government that would be able to overcome Israeli closure imposed on the Gaza Strip.
In November, Hamas thwarted an Egyptian attempt to launch the inter-Palestinian dialogue, saying it can not sit with Abbas while his forces cracked down on Hamas supporters in West Bank.