Fatah and Hamas appear to have more that unites them than divides them. Photo: Suhaib Salem-Pool.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with the leader of Islamic Jihad Thursday night as part of talks on Palestinian national reconciliation in Cairo, Egypt. Abbas was in the country as part of an Islamic Summit.

According to official PA news agency Wafa , Abbas sat down with general-secretary of Islamic Jihad, Ramadan Shalah and his deputy, Ziad al-Nkhaleh and discussed implementation of the stalled unity deals.

Earlier this week the terror group said it was entertaining the idea of running in upcoming Palestinian National Council elections.

“We are pushing toward arranging the Palestinian arena, and the most important files are the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and the Palestinian National Council elections,” Shiekh Nafith Azzam said on behalf of the group.

“If we agree on the political program and the decision-making mechanism and the structure, this will be a strong impetus to greater unity in the Palestinian front.”

The terrorist organization is backed by Iran and is seen as a more extreme alternative to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Recently Israel’s security service, Shin Bet, uncovered a plot by an Islamic Jihad cell to kidnap Israelis.