Hamas raises hopes for inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

 Hamas supporter Mahmoud al-Zahar announced a compromise between the mainstream party Hamas and the Western-backed Fatah party may be reached within a few days under Egyptian supervision. He made the announcement at the sidelines of a celebration of educational institutions in Gaza City , specifying that for Hamas to sign the agreement some amendments, of which the Egyptian intermediary was well aware, would still have to be made

 It was evident that the amendments regard the question of who would be in charge of the Rafah crossing at the Palestinian side: the Egyptians, who consider Hamas an offshoot of their declared inner enemy, the Muslim Brotherhood, are trying to push Hamas into accepting a presence of Palestinian Authority security forces, trained by US General Dayton and accepted by IOF