Erdogan meets Hamas leader in Istanbul

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met the leader of Palestinian group Hamas, Khaled Mashal, in Istanbul Friday.

Erdogan and Mashal discussed how to resolve the disagreements among Palestinians as well as Turkish humanitarian assistance, said a source from the Turkish Presidency.

The Turkish leader emphasized during the meeting that Turkey was keen on easing the distress of Palestinians, the source, who was not named due to restrictions on speaking with the media, told Anadolu Agency.

In April of 2014, rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah signed a long-awaited reconciliation agreement that called for the formation of a Palestinian unity government tasked with overseeing Palestinian legislative and presidential elections.

Although the unity government was unveiled two months later, it has yet to take on a governing role in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, while the relationship between the two factions remains beset by a host of longstanding differences.

Representatives of the two rival groups held a series of meetings in Doha in an effort to discuss means of implementing the agreement, but no breakthrough was made.