Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, left, with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their talks in Cairo. (AP)

CAIRO: Hamas has agreed to join the Palestine Liberation Organization — a key step toward unifying the long-divided Palestinian leadership.

Hamas’ leader Khaled Meshaal on Thursday joined a committee that will prepare for elections to the PLO leadership.

Those elections are likely years away but Meshaal’s move means he will work with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the rival Fatah party.

The PLO is the umbrella group of the Palestinian independence movement.

Thursday’s development is an important step toward reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah — which have been split since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Separate elections in the West Bank and Gaza for a unified Parliament are tentatively set for next year.

Islamic Jihad is also hoping to join the PLO and the group’s leader, Ramadan Shallah, will attend the Cairo talks along with all the other faction heads, members of the PLO Executive Committee and the speaker of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), Selim Zaanoun.

read more on ARAB NEWShttp://arabnews.com/middleeast/article552140.ece

Note: If only we could hope that this sign of unity will last! We should not fall into the trap of “divide and rule”!