Palestinian factions holding talks in Cairo agreed Thursday to work together to set up a unity government, saying that Egyptian-hosted reconciliation talks were only the first step on the road of unity, dpa reported.
"It is indeed an historic day," former Palestinian Prime Minister and senior Fatah official Ahmed Qurei told a press conference in Cairo.
He announced the creation of five committees to work on bridging gaps between all factions, including one tasked with forming a national unity government.
"We want to stress the fact that the beginning of this dialogue means that our people have turned the page on a painful era of division," Qurei added.
Representatives of around 12 Palestinian factions held the press briefing to announce their final statement after a long behind- closed-doors meeting.
The meeting, sponsored by Egyptian intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman, urged Palestinian factions to overcome their disputes and focus on the best interests of the Palestinian people.
The five committees will start work on March 10 and should conclude their mission by the end of the same month.
"There will be five committees responsible for forming a new government, reforming security agencies, restructuring the Palestine Liberation Organisation, reconciliation and presidential and legislative elections," Qurei said.
Hamas politburo deputy chief Mussa Abu Marzouq said the committees "will work on parallel levels and there will be no announcement of the outcome of their work except if all committees succeed in their missions".
However, Qurei did not give any forecast for the government. "We will decide how this government will be formed after the Government Committee finishes its work."
The statement also said the two factions would put "an end to the media campaigns that each faction launch against the other".
On Wednesday Hamas and Fatah, who have been holding bilateral unity talks throughout this month to overcome a bitter split between rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza, had agreed to stop attacking each other in the news media in order to foster "a positive atmosphere" ahead of the talks.
The statement also included setting free all political prisoners in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The Fatah-controlled Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank released 40 Hamas prisoners as a sign of goodwill ahead of the talks.
Hamas, which does not recognize Israel, ousted the Western-backed, secular Fatah movement from the Gaza Strip in June 2007, confining it to the West Bank.
"Today, all problems have not been solved. We only started solving the Palestinian problems. We have a long road to solve all problems but we have the will to do this," said Ziad Nakhleh, Deputy Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Organisation.
Nakhleh's words were echoed by Talal Nagui, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, describing the meeting as "a positive sign" and calling on everyone to see "the full and empty halves of the cup".
Thursday's meeting is the first since November, when Hamas walked out of negotiations brokered by Egypt, demanding that Fatah first stop arresting Hamas members.
It also came ahead of an aid meeting for Gaza being held next Monday in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
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