Al Ahmed, also a Fatah leader, said Fatah and Hamas were preparing
security teams to discuss such issues as joint patrols, border control and
the release of detainees from both sides. He said PA intelligence chief
Majid Faraj and Hamas's Imad Al Alami would lead the security talks.
"After that, the proposal will be ratified without any problem and very
soon," Al Ahmed said in an Oct. 2 radio interview.
The next round of reconciliation talks has been scheduled for
mid-October. Officials said Fatah and Hamas have already agreed on three out
of four disputed points in a draft submitted by Egypt in 2009. Over the last
month, Fatah and Hamas have met in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Egypt has sought to achieve Fatah-Hamas reconciliation since the Hamas
takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007. The talks have repeatedly foundered on
the issue of whether Hamas or the PA would control the Gaza Strip.
"Achieving serious progress on the security issue will put us one step away
from signing the Egyptian document and will lay the groundwork for the
practical implementation of the agreement," Hamas Prime Minister Ismail
Haniyeh said.