Rival Palestinian factions jointly agreed Wednesday to ask Egypt to postpone the handover of the control over Gaza from Hamas to Fatah as part of a reconciliation agreement, Hamas said.

"Hamas and Fatah are asking Egypt to postpone the transfer of the government roles from December 1 to December 10 in order to finalise arrangements to ensure the completion of national reconciliation steps," a statement from the Islamist rulers of Gaza read.

source: AFP