In a sign of progress on a deal to end the Gaza crisis, Egypt has invited rival Palestinian factions to a reconciliation conference in Cairo this month, a Palestinian official said Monday, AP reported. Egypt is trying to broker two key agreements in the sensitive region. One is a long-term truce between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas leaders in place of a temporary cease-fire after Israel's devastating three-week offensive in Gaza last month. The other is an end to the bitter divide between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which worsened after the militant group expelled its rivals from the Gaza Strip more than a year and a half ago. The Palestinian Authority controls the West Bank. The groups received invitations for the Feb. 22 reconciliation meeting, said Abdel Rahim Malouh, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. In Paris, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak expressed hope for «a return to calm» in Gaza by next week, after he and French President Nicolas Sarkozy discussed efforts for a one- or two-year truce in the Palestinian territory. Some 1,300 Palestinians were killed in the offensive, according to Gaza health officials.
