Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have signed a reconciliation deal – the biggest step forward for internal Palestinian relations in a decade. The signing of a preliminary agreement in Cairo was reached after two days of Egyptian-brokered negotiations. Fatah negotiator Azzam al-Ahmed and Hamas’s representative Saleh al-Arouri smiled and shook hands in a short ceremony presided over by Egypt’s chief of intelligence, Khalid Fawzi. The move should ensure a unity government will once again administer both the West Bank and Gaza after the rift caused by militant group Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
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