CAIRO: A delegation from Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas s Fatah party was in Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian officials ahead of a July 7 target for a deal between rival Palestinian factions.

The delegation, led by former Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei and including Azzam Al-Ahmad who heads Fatah s parliamentary bloc, met intelligence chief Omar Suleiman to discuss stumbling blocks in talks with the Islamist Hamas movement.

Suleiman stressed the importance of continuing the dialogue without delay, and reaching agreement over the remaining issues… in preparation for signing a deal on July 7 in Cairo to end divisions, Ahmad told reporters.

We agreed during the meeting to continue talks and conduct meetings before then so we succeed in reaching an agreement signed by all the Palestinian factions, he added.

Cairo has been hosting and facilitating talks between Fatah and Hamas aimed at healing bitter divisions between the two since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

The two factions still disagree about a number of issues, mainly security. Fatah wants to see Hamas security in Gaza replaced with a joint force of 10,000 to 15,000 overseeing all aspects of security in the tiny territory.

However Hamas wants to keep its own forces on the ground and set up a joint force of 300 to oversee only the enclave s borders.

Agreement between the two Palestinian factions is vital for reconstruction in the Gaza Strip which was devastated by Israel s 22-day onslaught in December and January that killed more than 1,400 Palestinians. -AFP