Hamas, Fatah say reconciliation deal agreed in Egypt

GAZA, April 27 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement and its rival Hamas said on Wednesday they had resolved their deep divisions, opening the way for a unity government and national elections.

The deal, which took many officials by surprise, was thrashed out in Egypt and followed a series of secret meetings.

"The two sides signed initial letters on an agreement. All points of differences have been overcome," Taher Al-Nono, the Hamas government spokesman in Gaza, told Reuters. He added that Cairo would shortly invite both sides to a signing ceremony. -- Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah (Editing by Crispian Balmer)