The committees are expected to go into operation on March 10 and complete their work by the end of March, added Qurei.

Meanwhile, the factions also agreed to form a sixth committee grouping Egypt and the Arab League to help end any differences that may emerge during the five committee meetings.

For his part, Hamas politburo deputy chief Moussa Abu Marzouk, who led the group's delegation and sit side by side with Qurei at the press conference, said "the next national unity government will be the key to serious agreements regarding the Rafah border crossing."

Ahmed Qurei (L), a senior Fatah leader and member of the Fatah delegation for the talks, and Moussa Abu Marzouk, Hamas politburo deputy chief and member of the group's delegation, talk in a press conference after an inter-Palestinian national unity dialogue held in Cairo, capital of Egypt, Feb. 26, 2009. The Palestinian factions attending the dialogue here on Thursday have agreed to work for the reconciliation among Palestinians. [Zhang Ning/Xinhua]

Rafah, the sole Gaza checkpoint that bypassed Israel, is considered by the group as their "gateway to the world".

As for the Gaza reconstruction international meeting scheduled for Monday in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Marzouk said "the conference will determine mechanisms for rebuilding the enclave."

On Thursday morning, a long-awaited Palestinian national unity dialogue kicked off in the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The last round of the dialogue was thwarted by Hamas, citing Fatah's crackdown against its members in the West Bank.

The two major Palestinian factions agreed in a preparative meeting Wednesday that they will stop media campaigns against each other and release political dissident in respective domains, setting the cornerstone for Thursday's comprehensive inter-Palestinian unity talks.

(Xinhua News Agency February 27, 2009)