Palestinian leaders meet to finalize reconciliation deal

The Palestinian president met the Hamas leader today in Cairo to discuss the future of co-operation between the two rival groups.

The summit between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Chief Khaled Mashaal was their first meeting since a power sharing agreement was forged in May.

However that reconciliation deal, despite being praised at the time, has largely stalled, with disputes over who would lead a unity government and with the Palestinian leadership focused on its UN recognition bid. Abbas and Mashaal are expected to discuss ways to resolve the obstacles to a unity deal between Hamas and Fatah.

Abbas told reporters after the meeting, "There are no differences at all between us now and we agreed to work as responsible partners."

For his part, Mashaal stated that the Palestinian powers have opened a new chapter of partnership.

However, in advance of the talks, Hamas said its position on not recognizing Israel would remain the same even if a unity government was established, which could jeopardize the Palestinian Authority's relationship with the U.S. and EU.

The EU's longstanding position has been that it will not engage with Hamas unless it recognizes Israel and forgoes terrorism.