Hamas chief Meshaal in Egypt for crisis talks

Meshaal is based in Damascus with the rest of Hamas's political leadership Khaled Meshaal, the leader-in-exile of Palestinian militant group Hamas, has been having talks in Cairo with Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. The visit is aimed at stopping a crisis brewing in the West Bank between the rival factions of Hamas and Fatah. Raids in the city of Qalqilya last week left nine people dead and put months of mediation work by Cairo in jeopardy. On Sunday, Egyptian officials met leaders of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group. Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nono said the rare visit by Mr Meshaal would focus on the repercussions of the West Bank raids and hoped Egypt would help "compel the Palestinian Authority to stop the assaults against our people in the West Bank". The two deadly raids by Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank last week were part of a continuing crackdown on the residents who are alleged to have links with Hamas. The incidents resulted in casualties on both sides and have stoked fears of a wider crisis developing. Fatah has accused Hamas of detaining hundreds of its supporters in Gaza in reprisal arrests in recent days. On Tuesday, police arrested six Hamas members who were suspected of planning acts against the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian officials say that more than $1.5m were seized during the arrest of the group that included two women. Hamas confirmed that its members had been detained, and accused the Palestinian Authority of colluding with Israel to "wipe it out". Egyptian mediators had set a 7 July deadline for differences to be overcome, in the hopes of ultimately creating a unity government that would allow elections to be held next y