A top Palestinian negotiator says 15 smaller factions, including militant Islamic groups, have thrown their weight behind a reconciliation deal ending a four-year rift between the movement’s main groups, Hamas and Fatah.

Under a framework accord reached last week between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Fatah in the West Bank, a unity caretaker government will be formed ahead of elections next year.

Fatah’s chief negotiator, Azzam al-Ahmed says that the Palestinian factions, including Islamic Jihad, signed the accord Tuesday, a day before the two groups are set to sign the deal.

Tensions between the two groups boiled over in 2007 and Hamas forces overran Gaza and expelled Fatah from the tiny coastal territory, leaving the Palestinians with competing governments.

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