Palestnians planting olive trees in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip celebrating Earth Day

Ramallah- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is expected to meet with Hamas Political Chief Khaled Mashal in Qatari capital Doha next month, according to a senior Palestinian official.

According to the official, the meeting aims at overcoming reconciliation obstacles between the delegations of the two movements.

Amin Maqboul, secretary-general of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, attributed the decision to the “remarkable progress” made in recent meetings in Doha between representatives of the two movements.

Maqboul told Asharq Al-Awsat that Qatar’s invitation was mainly directed to President Abbas to meet Mashal in Doha and announce their reconciliation agreement. That was before the two factions agreed to let their delegations meet ahead of Doha’s meeting in order to overcome conflicts and pave the way for the talks between the two leaders.

Mousa Abu Marzook, a member of the group’s political bureau, led Hamas delegation while Fatah delegation was led by Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of Fatah’s central committee.

At the upcoming meeting, Abbas and Mashal will discuss means of implementing a 2014 reconciliation agreement, along with other unresolved issues concerning security and a shaky Palestinian unity government, Maqboul said.

In April of 2014, Hamas and Fatah signed a long-awaited reconciliation agreement in Cairo that called for the formation of a Palestinian unity government tasked with overseeing Palestinian legislative and presidential polls.

Although the unity government was unveiled two months later in Ramallah, it has yet to take on a governing role in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, while the relationship between the two factions remains beset by a host of unsettled differences, both practical and ideological.

Leading members of the two movements met last month in Doha to discuss mechanisms for implementing the reconciliation agreement and address the obstacles that have continued to hinder its application.

In an earlier statement, Hamas said that it and Fatah had reached a “common view on the practical implementation” of the 2014 reconciliation deal with a view to ending long-running differences between the two factions. The group did not, however, disclose any further details.