The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, will meet the Hamas leader, Khaled Mashal, in Cairo to agree details of a new unity government, hoping to close a six-year schism between the political factions that has separated the West Bank from Gaza.
The meeting is scheduled to take place in Cairo.
Israel and the United States greeted news of the meeting with trepidation. Israel has warned that an agreement with Hamas would have grave consequences for its relations with the Palestinian Authority, both in terms of security and the transferral of funds.
