CAIRO: Rival Palestinian factions adjourned unity talks in Cairo on Monday without reaching agreement on key issues, notably the make-up of a new security force in Hamas-ruled Gaza, participants said.
Representatives of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas s Fatah party and the Islamist Hamas movement were in the Egyptian capital for a fifth round of talks aimed at healing bitter divisions between the two since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Fatah wants to see the Hamas security force in Gaza replaced with a joint force of 10,000 to 15,000 personnel overseeing all aspects of security in the tiny territory, senior Fatah official Zakaria Al-Agha told AFP.
But he said Hamas wanted to keep its own forces on the ground and set up a joint force of 300 to oversee only the borders, Agha said.
Another stumbling block is the role of a Cairo-proposed committee that would coordinate between Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Hamas wants the committee to coordinate between the two governments, Agha said, adding that his group rejected the idea of two governments.
There is only one government and we believe this committee should coordinate between that government and Hamas in Gaza as well as NGOs in the strip, he said.
The rival delegations are expected to return to Egypt in the coming weeks to resume negotiations on the sticking points.
Egypt has proposed July 7 as the date for the signing of an agreement, Agha said.
On Sunday, Egypt told rival Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo that the country will reopen its border with the Gaza Strip if the two sides can reach a reconciliation agreement.
Hamas and Fatah began the fifth round of talks Saturday aimed a striking a deal to share power and ending a nearly two-year split that occurred after Hamas seized control of Gaza in June 2007, leaving Fatah with authority over the West Bank. -AFP
