The talks were held on Sunday between a high-level Fatah delegation led by Nabil Shaath and Ismail Haniyeh, the democratically elected Palestinian prime minister.

Haniyeh said that Hamas has a strategic decision to compromise with Fatah.

He stated that Hamas is looking for initiatives to provide a positive atmosphere for reconciliation talks.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Haniyeh warned that US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent proposal for a deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will not help regional peace because it does not recognize Palestinians' rights.

During his trip to Gaza, Shaath also met with a number of other Hamas officials to end years of rivalry between the two parties.

He told reporters that ending the split by forming a unity government and holding fair elections is a necessity for many Palestinians.

He also called on Palestinians to make national unity a reality on the ground.

The Palestinian rival groups Hamas and Fatah have been in dispute since Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections.

Fatah and Hamas have reached two reconciliation agreements in Egypt and Qatar in 2011 and 2012 respectively, but both deals were not implemented due to some differences.

Acting chief of Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas said in April 2013 that he would renew consultations with the Hamas movement, after the resignation of authority prime minster Salam Fayyad, who had served since 2007.

NTJ/SHI