Hamas sees accord with Israel over Gaza border within 'next few days'

Gaza City/Rafah: Hamas expects to see an agreement with Israel over the reopening of border crossings into the Gaza Strip "within the next few days," a spokesman for the Islamist movement said on Saturday.

"If the Egyptian efforts are successful at this time, we expect to reach an agreement within the next few days," Fawzi Barhum said. His comments came as a delegation including senior Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar left Gaza for Cairo for top-level talks about a lasting truce in the territory.

Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas leader in Gaza, crossed to Egypt on Saturday for talks on consolidating a ceasefire with Israel in the battered coastal enclave, witnesses and a Hamas source said.

It was the first time Zahar had been seen in public since Israel's massive 22-day war against Gaza's Islamist government which ended with both sides calling separate ceasefires on January 18.

He is among a delegation of seven Hamas officials who crossed the Rafah border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on their way to Cairo for talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Sulaiman.

Zahar, believed to be the overall Hamas leader in the Palestinian territories, told Al Jazeera television that he would meet with Egyptian negotiators and members of Hamas's Syria-based politburo later in the day.

Barhum separately said the talks were over an agreement "to end the siege, stop the aggression and reopen the crossings".

The negotiations in Egypt came as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas opened talks with his Turkish counterpart on the Gaza conflict amid ongoing tension in the area.

Arab solidarity : Abdullah tours region

Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jaber Al Thani, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, on Saturday received Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister.

They discussed brotherly bilateral relations and a number of regional issues. On the second leg of his tour, Shaikh Abdullah will visit Jordan, where he will meet with a number of Jordanian officials and discuss with them a number of regional issues, WAM reported.

Later, Shaikh Abdullah will visit Muscat and discuss with Omani officials ways of enhancing Arab solidarity.