Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Egypt
plans to relaunch reconciliation talks between his Fatah faction and the militant Hamas
group which controls Gaza.
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Abbas met Sunday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. Afterwards, he told reporters Egypt will start coordinating Fatah-Hamas talks immediately.
He said he has no preconditions for the dialogue. Abbas' willingness to enter new talks with Hamas comes after he vowed for more than a year not to talk with the Islamic movement unless it first gives up control of the Gaza Strip.
Egypt has frequently mediated in disputes between Palestinian factions. Sunday's meeting comes two days after a mysterious car bombing killed six people in Gaza and sparked the toughest Hamas crackdown against its Fatah rivals in months.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas on whether it will accept Egypt's offer.