On Wednesday, rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah announced that after two days of talks in Gaza, they have agreed to begin working together again for the first time in seven years. Fatah spokesman Fayez Abu Eitta said that an interim government could be finalized in five weeks.
As CNN reports, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza have been run separately since the mid-2000s, with Fatah governing in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza. The split began in 2006, after Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian parliament, and was further fractured when Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. The new talks began earlier in the week, after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas sent a delegation of Fatah members to meet with Hamas representatives.
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There are still many questions that need to be answered about the reconciliation of Fatah and Hamas, including who would lead this new united government and when new elections could be held.
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