Senior Hamas, Fatah officials celebrate unity
Senior Hamas, Fatah officials celebrate unityReuters

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held "positive" talks with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal in Doha Monday in the first
meeting since their rival movements signed a surprise unity deal last month, according to AFP

The meeting began at 0900 GMT, shortly after Abbas held talks with Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, a senior PA told AFP in Ramallah.

"Abbas and Meshaal held a long meeting this afternoon in Doha to discuss the latest Palestinian developments, including the reconciliation agreement and creating a positive atmosphere in which to achieve it," a Hamas statement said.

"The meeting was positive, with both leaders expressing a serious willingness to turn over a new leaf, based on national partnership," it added.

The exiled Hamas chief has been headquartered in Doha for more than two years after leaving his previous base in Damascus because of the Syrian civil war.

The last time the two leaders met face-to-face was in Cairo in January 2013.

Hamas said it might incorporate some 3,000 members of the Palestinian Authority's security forces to help police Gaza on a temporary basis.

"There is a clause addressing the security situation, including... administrative arrangements for 3,000 members of Ramallah's security apparatus to work as part of Gaza security," Hamas government secretary Abdel Salam Siyyam said in a statement on Sunday.

He said the move would be for an "interim period," without saying how long it would be.

Hamas continues to be adamant over its control of a "unity" government, expressing over and over again that it would remain in control of both Gaza and the PA after elections and insisting that Ismail Haniyeh would rule the government. 

Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a senior official and co-founder of Hamas, took issue with claims of a united military force last week, spewing sharp criticism over the issue to Reuters

"Nobody will touch the security sections in Gaza. No one will be able to touch one person from the military group. Nobody asked for that," Zahar declared. He also claimed that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is "lying" about being in charge of a unity government and charged him with vying for the continuation of US aid.