Palestinians resume talks in Cairo

Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have begun a fifth round of talks aimed at forming a deal to share power, the latest session in months of fruitless negotiations.
Egyptian intelligence chief General Omar Suleiman, the top mediator in the talks, met with the two delegations on Saturday and gave them a deadline of July 5 to reach an agreement, Ezzat Rishq, a Hamas official who participated in the meeting, said.
Egypt has proposed Hamas would stay out of the transitional government, allowing president Mahmoud Abbas to run it, an Egyptian official involved in the discussions, said.
In return, Hamas and other Palestinian factions would become part of an advisory committee that would be given a say in the government's decisions, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Hamas' Gaza strongman, Mahmoud Zahar, at the start of Saturday's session said the group was still studying the Egyptian proposal.
He repeated the group's position that it will not be part of any government programme that involves the recognition of the Jewish state.
The key stumbling block in the Egyptian-mediated talks remains the political programme of a unity government that would be in power until elections are held in January 2010.
The international community says it will only deal with a Palestinian government that recognizes Israel, a concession Hamas is unwilling to make.

Gaza border opened

Meanwhile, Egypt on Saturday opened its borders with the GazaStrip to allow the departure of a number of Palestinians travelling to Egypt for medical treatment, among other travellers, Hamas authorities said.
A statement by Hamas's interior ministry said that the crossing will remain open for two days, adding that only patients, students and holders of foreign passports and residence permits are allowed to leave.
Since 2007, when Hamas routed security forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and seized the coastal Strip, the borderbetween Gaza and Egypt has only been intermittently open.
The crossing is the Gaza Strip's only crossing that does not exit toIsrael.