BETHLEHEM, Israel, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Exiled Palestinian Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal says he supports plans for a unity government to end the division between the West Bank and Gaza.
Mashaal, speaking on Palestine TV, said rival Fatah and Hamas leaders who met last week to discuss reconciliation have agreed on a political partnership that would continue to oppose Israeli occupation, the Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported Tuesday.
The plan, which calls for creation of an independent Palestinian state on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, is supported by other political parties who joined in the Egypt-brokered talks, Ma'an said.
Hamas, which won a parliamentary majority in 2006, controls Gaza, while Fatah holds the governing majority in the larger West Bank. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are expected to become part of an interim leadership for the Fatah's Palestinian Liberation Organization.
