GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Russia has expressed its readiness to host meetings between Fatah and Hamas to overcome the obstacles impeding Palestinian reconciliation.
The divide between the two started following armed clashes between members of the Palestinian security services and Fatah gunmen on the one hand and Hamas gunmen on the other in mid-June 2007. Hamas ended up taking control of the Gaza Strip, with a state of political divide persisting between the two sides. Various efforts by Arab states have thus far failed to achieve reconciliation.