Rival Palestinian factions signed an agreement in Algiers on Thursday aimed at resolving 15 years of discord by holding elections within a year after months of talks mediated by Algeria.
The deal aims to end a rift between President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and the Islamist group Hamas that has split Palestinian governance in the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and hindered Palestinian ambitions of statehood.
However, there was scepticism back home that the pledge to hold presidential and legislative elections would deliver any concrete changes after previous unmet promises. The delegations did not agree to form a unity government.
