Meshaal to Cairo for Talks on Palestinian Reconciliation

Hamas head Khaled Meshaal is to travel to Cairo next week for talks with Egyptian officials on Palestinian reconciliation, a senior official of the Islamist movement said Thursday.

Hamas political bureau chief Meshaal "will visit Cairo early next week to discuss reconciliation and Egyptian-Palestinian relations," Ismail Radwan told Agence France Presse in Gaza City, without giving a specific date.

Radwan said the exiled leader would be accompanied by a large delegation from the Gaza Strip and abroad.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and rival Palestinian faction Fatah, which controls the West Bank, agreed last year to reconcile, signing in Doha a deal calling for the quick formation of a consensus government, which would pave the way for presidential and legislative polls by around May.

But the process has hit repeated roadblocks, with the formation of the interim government proving thorny.

Hamas is currently renewing its advisory council which will select the movement's political bureau. Part of the Hamas leadership, particularly in Gaza, accuses Meshaal of having made too many concessions for the reconciliation.