Hamas and Fatah agree to plan implicitly recognising Israel

The rival Hamas and Fatah movements today completed an agreement on a plan that implicitly recognises Israel, ending weeks of acrimonious negotiations, a top official said.

“We have an agreement over the document,” said Ibrahim Abu Najah, co-ordinator of the “national dialogue” over the proposal.

President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah has been trying to coax his Hamas rivals into endorsing the document, which calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

He has endorsed the plan as a way to end crippling economic sanctions against the Hamas-led Palestinian government and pave the way to reopening peace talks.