RECONCILIATION DEAL:

Fatah’s Azam al-Ahmad (right) and Saleh al-Aruri (left) of Hamas kiss after signing a reconciliation deal in Cairo, as the two rival Palestinian movements ended their decade-long split following negotiations overseen by Egypt. The new Hamas deputy leader and the head of Fatah’s delegation struck the deal which was described by Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas as a ‘final agreement’ to end their crippling division, which has at times erupted into deadly conflict over the past ten years. — AFP photo