Palestinian factions will start the second round of their unity and reconciliation talks in Cairo this week, a Hamas spokesman said on Monday.

"The meetings and discussions will be completed this week and will crystallize the final positions towards the problematic issues that we could not agree upon in the first session of talks," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement.

The factions seek to form a unity government replacing Hamas' administration in Gaza Strip and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's government of West Bank which was formed by President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.

Barhoum said the platform of a unity government is still unsolved, and differences still exist in reforming the Palestinian Liberation Organizations (PLO).

Hamas, which wants to join the PLO, said it can not recognize the current program of the organization since it accepts the existence of Israel and the peace treaties.

The factions agreed on forming a transitional government and holding elections in January 2010 to boost the reconciliation.

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2009)