GAZA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- A senior Fatah movement negotiator said on Sunday that Egypt has informed Fatah and Hamas leaders in Cairo that whether they accept it or not, the Palestinian reconciliation deal will be signed in July.

    Azzam al-Ahmed, who is currently in Cairo, told the Palestinian state-run news agency Wafa that Egypt's Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman told Fatah and Hamas leaders in a meeting on Saturday that Egypt won't allow the Palestinian dialogue to fail.

    Suleiman was quoted by al-Ahmed as saying "whether you signed or not, we have to finalize this agreement. I don't talk on behalf of Egypt only, but on behalf of all the Arabs who back Egypt to help you reaching an agreement."

    He said that Suleiman told delegations of the two movements that Egypt will not end the inter-reconciliation dialogue without reaching an agreement between the factions.

    Al-Ahmed said Egypt will summon the five committees involved in the Palestinian dialogue to set the formula of the agreement so as to hold the final round in next July.

    He also said that Suleiman told Fatah and Hamas leaders that "Egypt will permanently open Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt if the two movements reach a reconciliation agreement."

    On Saturday, a daylong bilateral dialogue between Fatah and Hamas negotiators ended without achieving any tangible progress on the substantial issues that the two sides are debating.

    The two sides had stated that the aim of the dialogue is to end a two-year status of political and geographical rift between Gaza, controlled by Hamas, and the West Bank, ruled by President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement.