Hamas agrees to steps toward Palestinian unity, Fatah welcomes move

Hamas said on Sept. 17 it had agreed to steps toward resolving a decade-long split with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah, announcing it would dissolve a body seen as a rival government and was ready to hold elections.

The statement comes after Hamas leaders held talks with Egyptian officials last week, and with the Gaza Strip run by the Palestinian Islamist movement facing a mounting humanitarian crisis.

Hamas said it had agreed to key demands made by Fatah: dissolving the so-called "administrative committee", while saying it was ready for elections and negotiations toward a unity government.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniya agreed to take such steps in talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo last week, a Hamas official has told AFP.

It was unclear, however, whether the steps would result in further concrete action toward ending the deep division with Fatah, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In the statement, Hamas spoke of the "dissolution" of the administrative committee, which was seen as a rival government to Abbas's administration.

Hamas formed the committee in March, and since then Abbas has sought to put further pressure on the Islamist movement, reducing electricity payments for the Gaza Strip among other measures.

Hamas' move was welcomed by Abbas' Fatah movement, but said it wants to see vows implemented before making the next move.

Mahmoud Aloul, the No. 2 in Fatah, told the Voice of Palestine radio that "this is encouraging news." However, he cautioned that "we want to see that happening on the ground before we move to the next step."

When details began to emerge of the discussions in Cairo last week, U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov said: "I welcome the...