Egypt will send invitations this week to Palestinian factions to participate in a reconciliation conference in Cairo, the Palestinian daily Al-Quds reports.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday, when the two discussed the recent escalation in violence between Fatah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
An explosion claimed the lives of five Hamas military operatives and a six-year-old girl on Friday. Hamas blamed Fatah for the attack and has since arrested more than 160 Fatah members in Gaza. Meanwhile, the Fatah-controlled security organizations arrested dozens of Hamas members in the West Bank.
Hamas’ ousted prime minister, Isma’il Haniyya, has ordered his Gaza Interior Ministry to investigate the incident, and on Monday morning Hamas spokesmen claimed they had proof Fatah was behind this "barbaric attack."
"We will continue the negotiations even if the chances for reconciliation are one in a hundred," ‘Abbas said following his meeting with Mubarak.
‘Abbas further asserted that during the talks the factions would also discuss the Israeli-Palestinian prisoner swap.
Hamas is demanding the release of hundreds of prisoners, including dozens of Hamas members of Parliament, who were arrested in the wake of the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The movement also demands the release of prisoners who have committed murderous attacks against Israelis.
Last week, sources in Egypt told The Media Line Israeli and Hamas delegations were expected to hold separate talks with Egyptian intelligence officials brokering negotiations between the parties. The planned talks were described as an attempt to initiate an "intensive" dialogue that will result in a prisoner exchange.
The sources cautioned that the negotiations may nevertheless be postponed by Hamas until Israel agrees to preconditions it has set. These include the strengthening of the truce in the Gaza Strip; the opening of the borders between Gaza and Israel; and Israel’s acceptance of the list of prisoners that Hamas submitted to the Israelis a few months ago.