Hamas and Fatah are closer than ever to a compromise that will lead to reconciliation after more than a decade of fighting, Al-Monitor has learned from senior officials in the Palestinian Authority.

On Aug. 1, a group of Hamas officials paid a visit to the office of President Mahmoud Abbas at the PA headquarters in Ramallah. Heading the delegation was Nasser al-Din al-Shaer, former deputy to Ismail Haniyeh, who was Hamas' prime minister in the Gaza Strip from 2006 to 2013 and now heads its political bureau. Shaer is considered the most pragmatic member of the movement in the Gaza Strip, while Fatah considers him a worthwhile negotiation partner. Unlike other Hamas members, he considers Palestinian national interests more important than the narrow interests of the movement. The official explanation provided by Abbas’ office for this surprising meeting is that the Hamas delegation wanted to congratulate the Palestinian president on defending Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The bloody conflict between the rival Palestinian groups began with the violent Hamas coup in 2007. Since then, all efforts to bring about reconciliation have failed.

Last week's meeting took place in the shadow of one of the biggest crises between Fatah and Hamas of the past few years. Three months ago, Abbas decided to separate Gaza from the West Bank. The impetus was a decision by Yahya Sinwar, who was elected in February as leader of Hamas in Gaza, to establish a Supreme Civil Council to handle municipal and administrative affairs there. Abbas considered the creation of this new council, which consists entirely of Hamas representatives, a challenge to the Palestinian national unity government that still governs Gaza, at least officially, and to his own position as president.