Rival Palestinian factions jointly agreed Wednesday to ask Egypt to postpone the handover of the control over Gaza from Hamas to Fatah as part of a reconciliation agreement, they said.

"Hamas and Fatah are asking Egypt to postpone the transfer of the government roles from December 1 to December 10 in order to finalise arrangements to ensure the completion of national reconciliation steps," said a statement from Hamas, the Islamist rulers of the Gaza Strip.

A Fatah official confirmed the Hamas statement in remarks following a joint meeting in Gaza City.

The decision comes after mutual accusations of failure to respect the accord which would see Hamas handing over all governing duties in the enclave to the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.

The handover would have ended the Islamist movement's decade-long control of the coastal territory.

Sharp disagreements remained between Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah, based in the occupied West Bank, and Hamas, particularly over the fate of public employees in Gaza and security control of the enclave.

Source:AFP