Palestinian leaders gathered in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday to mark the signing of a unity deal between the main factions, Fatah and Hamas. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal held their first face-to-face meeting since 2006. Palestinian activist Mustafa Barghouthi called on the international community to back the deal.

Mustafa Barghouthi: “What you’ve seen today is not only a sign of unity but, I hope you’ve read in the speeches that were made, a sign of moderation from all Palestinians, including Hamas, and that’s a very important step forward. I believe that Europe, the United States, everybody in this world should support the unity agreement. Israel, of course, is against the unity agreement, and that’s very clear. Why? Because Mr. [Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor] Lieberman, who doesn’t know how to speak diplomatically, said it very clearly. He said, 'We want Palestinians to remain divided so that they remain weak.' And we want to be unified so that we become powerful and strong, so that we can achieve real peace.”