Islam Times - Mashaal meets Arab League chief in Cairo

Islam Times - Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal met with the Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil Al-Arabi in Cairo on Thursday evening over Palestinian national reconciliation.

In a joint press conference after the talks, Al-Arabi said he was optimistic that implementation of the 2011 Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah would be completed.

Reconciliation will strengthen the Palestinian position domestically and internationally, he said.

Mashaal affirmed that the political leaders had agreed to reactivate the 2011 deal in recent Cairo meetings.

Mashaal met Fatah leader President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo on Wednesday, their first face-to-face meeting in over a year.

They also met separately with Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi, and an Egyptian official said the leaders agreed to implement the long-stalled reconciliation agreement.