Ramallah - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Friday called reconciliation talks taking place in Cairo between his secular Fatah party and the radical Islamist Hamas movement ruling Gaza "difficult."

"I do not want to say that there are hurdles or obstacles," he told reporters in Ramallah.

"The talks are difficult and they need effort, good intentions and a real desire to reach reconciliation," he said.

Cairo  - Negotiations between Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo produced scant progress as the third day of talks closed, according to Egyptian media reports.

Cairo's official Middle East News Agency quoted Jamal Yussef, a leading member of Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, as saying an agreement had been reached on "domestic and international security," but he did not specify its substance.

Gaza - British Member of Parliament George Galloway on Tuesday delivered thousands of pounds and a convoy of vehicles to the Hamas government in Gaza a day after his caravan arrived in Gaza City.

"We are giving you now 100 vehicles and all of their contents, and we make no apology for what I am about to say. We are giving them to the elected government of Palestine," Galloway said during a welcoming celebration organized by Hamas in Gaza City.

Ramallah - The political unification of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is the Palestinians' greatest priority, according to an opinion poll Monday, as factions from both sides begin unity talks in Cairo.

The poll, conducted by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), said 46 per cent of Palestinians surveyed said unity is their most important priority, followed by 28 per cent saying peace between Israel and the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip.

Ramallah - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned Iran Wednesday against "widening" Palestinian divisions by meddling in internal Palestinian affairs.

"Iran must not intervene in the internal Palestinian affairs," he told a news conference with the visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Ramallah.

"You are widening our divisions, not helping us," he told Tehran.

Ramallah - European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in Ramallah Saturday that any government in Israel should continue to honour commitments made by previous governments.

After meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Solana told reporters that the international community would deal with the next Israeli government "according to its programme and platform."