Hamas, Fatah agree on Gaza unity govt

Palestinian children sit on the rubble of their house which was destroyed during the fifty days of conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, yesterday. A new UN-brokered deal has set the stage for private companies to help rebuild Gaza after a seven-week conflict that left 100,000 people with nowhere to live. Photo: AFP

Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah reached a "comprehensive" agreement yesterday for the return of their unity government in Gaza after two days of talks in Cairo, negotiators from both sides said.
The Palestinian rivals had set up a unity government of independents in June but it never took hold, with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas accusing Hamas of running a "parallel" administration as de facto ruler in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas in turn accused Abbas's Palestinian Authority, headquartered in Ramallah, of not paying its 45,000 employees in Gaza.
"Fatah and Hamas have reached a comprehensive agreement for the unity government to return to the Gaza Strip," Jibril Rajoub of Fatah told AFP.