The deal comes a month ahead of the Arab League summit, scheduled to take place in Algeria with the attendance of leaders of the bloc’s members.

Qatar welcomed the signing of the Algeria Declaration between rival Palestinian factions on Thursday, describing it as “positive step” in Palestine’s national unity.

In a statement, Doha’s foreign ministry said that the agreement is “a consolidation of the national project to establish an independent Palestinian state on 1967 borders with eastern Jerusalem as its capital.”

“Qatar supports all efforts devoted to ending the division…and encourages all the Palestinian parties to uphold dialogue to overcome the differences,” read the statement.

The Gulf state’s foreign ministry added that Qatar supports the Palestinian parties in moving forward “to strengthen the resilience of the brotherly Palestinian people” in resisting the Israeli occupation.

“It [Qatar] also expresses its utmost appreciation for the sisterly People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria for its role in patronising the talks,” said the foreign ministry.

A total of 14 Palestinian factions reached an agreement on Wednesday to end a 15-year divide, noting plans to hold elections.

This came after  Algiers launched an initiative in January aimed at uniting the Palestinian factions.

While reports stated that Qatari representatives participated in the Palestinian reconciliation talks in Algeria on Tuesday, Qatar has not commented on its participation.

The representative of the “Democratic Front” in Algeria Muhammad Al-Hamami told Al Araby Al Jadeed that the agreement entails the re-election of a National Council for the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

The official added that the deal includes the establishment of a joint follow-up committee headed by Algeria to ensure the implementation of the agreement. Under the agreement, the Palestinain National Council would be elected within one year of the signing.

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the deal does not entail the establishment of a unity government, per a report by Al Jazeera.

However, Qassem said it includes provisions on the development of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s  (PLO) structure while forming its national council.

Delayed elections

Last year, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the postponement of elections, noting uncertainty on whether Israel would allow elections to take place in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The last elections in 2006 had ended with victory for President Mahmoud Abbas as well as Hamas, which secured 74 seats out of 132.

Fatah and Hamas were then locked in a bitter war from 2006 until 2007, resulting in the killing of hundreds of Palestinians and the division of territories between the parties.

Hamas controls the Gaza Strip while Fatah holds the Palestinian Authority (PA) government in Ramallah. Egypt had also tried brokering an agreement between the two sides through previous meetings, but yielded no results.

Qatar had previously hosted dialogue between Fatah and Hamas in 2016 in an effort to discuss the implementation of a 2014 agreement. The deal had stipulated the formation of a Palestinian unity government to oversee legislative and presidential elections.