The Palestinian leadership on Thursday endorsed the latest agreement between the heads of Fatah and Hamas and called for preparations for elections to be speeded up.

Palestinian President and Fatah head Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal inked an accord in Doha on Monday placing Abbas at the head of an interim government to supervise the run-up to elections later this year.

The deal signed in Doha by rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas has moved the two sides closer to reconciliation but challenges remain, officials and experts warn.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who also heads Fatah, and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal signed an accord on Monday placing Abbas at the head of an interim consensus government to supervise the run-up to elections later this year.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to head an interim consensus government under a deal signed with Hamas on Monday, ending a long-running disagreement over the post that stalled Palestinian reconciliation.

The accord signed in Qatar was welcomed by officials from both rival Palestinian movements Hamas and Fatah, but Israel warned Abbas to choose between reconciliation with Hamas and making peace with the Jewish state.

Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah agreed at a meeting in the Qatari capital on Sunday that presidential and legislative elections must be held "quickly," a top official told Agence France Presse.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal met to explore the formation of an interim Palestinian government to oversee the preparations for the polls and discuss the implementation of a reconciliation deal.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal began talks in the Qatari capital Sunday on the formation of an interim Palestinian government and staging of elections, an official said.

The meeting was to explore the formation of "an interim government composed of independents to oversee the preparations for upcoming presidential and legislative elections," the Palestinian official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal will meet on Sunday in Qatar, Fatah party spokesman Azzam al-Ahmed told Agence France Presse on Friday.

Abbas and Meshaal "will discuss forming a government and political questions after the failure of talks" with Israel, Ahmed said.

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said on Saturday it does not plan to move its headquarters out of unrest-hit Syria.

"There is no change, and Hamas has not taken any decision to leave Syria, and we are still there," spokesman Fawzi Barhum told Agence France Presse.

Khaled Meshaal, political chief of the Hamas movement that rules Gaza, is due in Jordan on Sunday on his first official visit since he was expelled in 1999, the government spokesman said.

"Khaled Meshaal will visit Jordan on Sunday, along with the Crown Prince of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Tamim al-Thani," Rakan Majali, who is also information minister, told Agence France Presse on Tuesday.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who survived a 1997 Israeli assassination bid, has confirmed he wants to step down after eight years in post, the Islamist movement said on Saturday.

"Political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal has notified Hamas's consultative council that he does not wish to be a candidate for the movement's future leadership," a statement said.

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal met the Swiss Middle East envoy in Cairo late on Wednesday as part of efforts to normalize relations with European governments, sources in the Islamist movement told Agence France Presse.

A Hamas official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Meshaal and Jean-Daniel Ruch, whose country is not part of the European Union, discussed the possibility of relations between Europe and the Islamist group which rules Gaza.