Fatah delegation to visit Gaza Wednesday

A high-profile Fatah delegation from the West Bank is scheduled to visit the Gaza Strip on Wednesday to hold talks with representatives of Fatah and other factions in the coastal enclave. Member of Fatah Central Committee Muhammad al-Madani said he and senior officials Nabil Shaath and Amin Maqboul would leave for Gaza later on Wednesday. He declined to discuss the goal of the visit, but said the agenda may include meetings with Hamas officials. Another Fatah official, Atif Abu Seif, told Ma'an the Fatah delegation was tasked with arranging some internal party issues in Gaza, as well as holding meetings with other Palestinian factions to push forward reconciliation efforts. The spokesman of the Hamas-run government in Gaza Tahir al-Nunu said Tuesday that premier Ismail Haniyeh welcomed the Fatah officials to Gaza in a phone call with Shaath. Hamas and Fatah have been at bitter odds since fracturing into separate governments in 2007. The parties signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo in May 2011 but the deal has failed to yield a united government.