Cairo - Palestinian President Yasser Arafat met an opponent of the peace deal with Israel yesterday for a second day of reconciliation talks. Mr Arafat and Mr Nayef Hawatmeh, the leader of the Damascus-based Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, resumed talks that had lasted late into Sunday night.
Mr Hani al-Hassan, a senior figure in Mr Arafat's Fatah faction, described Sunday's meetings - the first between the PLO leader and Hawatmeh for six years - as "positive".
Mr Arafat's talks with Mr Hawatmeh, like those he held earlier this month with a leader of the Syrian-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, aim at uniting Palestinians ahead of talks with Israel on a final peace settlement.
The Middle East News Agency in Egypt quoted Mr Nabil Shaath, a close aide of Mr Arafat, as saying Fatah would hold talks on Thursday at an undisclosed venue with the radical Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, which is vehemently opposed to compromise with Israel.