Senior Hamas official Ayman Taha said Thursday that the terrorist organization's reconciliation talks with Fatah will continue in Damascus next week. Taha told the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency that the resumption of talks was made possible by Fatah withdrawing its reservations on the location of the talks, which followed a heated exchange between Fatah Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad at a recent Arab summit in Libya.
Reports coming from behind-the-scenes meetings indicate that the one point of disagreement separating the two groups is a Hamas demand for the Palestinian Authority to stop security coordination with the Israel Defense Forces.