Hawzah News Agency (Istanbul - Turkey) - Fatah and Hamas Palestinian movements have made progress in their reconciliation efforts, during negotiation talks in Istanbul.

“The dialogue is positive and bears fruit,” said Fatah leader member Hussein a-Sheikh on Thursday.

According to reports the parties managed to reach an agreement to hold elections to the Palestinian institutions in a graded manner.

The parties are determined to reach a comprehensive agreement within a short time, Reuters reported, citing various sources.

Representatives from the two Palestinian groups met in Turkey on Tuesday for talks on accelerating inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

Hamas leading figure Khalil Al-Hayya said Tuesday’s talks aim at implementing the outcomes of an earlier meeting between the general secretaries of the two rival factions that took place in Ramallah and Beirut earlier this month.

“Hamas is keen on achieving national unity in the hope of reaching a comprehensive national strategy to face the challenges and plots that target the Palestinian cause,” he said in a statement.

Fatah spokesman Mounir Al-Jaghoub earlier tweeted that his group’s delegation will meet with Hamas representatives to discuss ending the Palestinian division and the application of outcomes of the Sept. 3 meeting.

During their Beirut meeting on Sept. 3, Hamas and Fatah agreed on a host of issues, including healing their rift and upholding the principle of peaceful transfer of power through elections based on proportional representation.