Hamas, Fatah, Sign Merger

Palestine's two age-old rivals put aside their differences in Cairo today to work toward a peace deal with Israel.

Hamas and Fatah, the two political factions that have long rivalled each other to control the Palestinian territories, signed an agreement in Cairo that will merge the parties. Khaled Meshaal, who leads the militant Islamist group Hamas, and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian authority and head of the moderate Fatah, met today for the first time in five years to bring the competing parties together to prepare the territories for statehood. Israel has already condemned the deal, saying it would refuse to negotiate a peace deal with any party containing members of Hamas. The deal also brings the Palestine Liberation Organization into the fold, which will be responsible for setting up a peace agreement with Israel.