The two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, meanwhile have expressed an increased willingness to attempt a unity agreement after years of rivalry. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says he will pursue reconciliation talks right after his attempt to gain recognition of Palestine as an observer state at the United Nations later this week. In an interview with CNN, Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal reaffirmed his acceptance of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders but rejected the longstanding U.S.-Israeli demand that Palestinians also recognize Israel’s “right to exist.”

Khaled Meshaal: “I accept a state of the 1967 [borders]. How can I accept Israel? They have occupied my land. … The Palestinians today, and in the past, and Hamas, have agreed about a program, a national program that accepts the '67 borders. But the Israelis don't accept. So it is all about — it’s up to the Israelis. And the international community is failing to do us justice.”