Rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas have agreed on a prisoner swap deal on the eve of a Palestinian unity meeting in Cairo. The two rivals late Wednesday reached an agreement on resolving their prisoner issues ahead of Thursday's reconciliation talks that may pave the way for forming a unity government.
Senior officials of Fatah and Hamas voiced their hope that the inter-Palestinian national unity dialogue would be held successfully.
Delegations from the two movements and other Palestinian factions started the talks at the office of Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, an official with a small Palestinian faction said. Suleiman has been mediating reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas since the latter seized power in Gaza in June 2007.
