RIYADH (Reuters) -- Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal was in Saudi Arabia today to meet with officials in a possible bid to narrow the rift between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, an official source said.
"He arrived today. The visit is aimed at helping Palestinian reconciliation," a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
Any visit by the Islamist group Hamas, which is backed by Iran, to Saudi Arabia, which backs the more secular party Fatah, may be viewed as a Saudi effort to extend an olive branch to Hamas.
President Mahmud Abbas's Palestinian Authority runs the Israeli-occupied West Bank while its Hamas opponents seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
"He arrived today. The visit is aimed at helping Palestinian reconciliation," a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
Any visit by the Islamist group Hamas, which is backed by Iran, to Saudi Arabia, which backs the more secular party Fatah, may be viewed as a Saudi effort to extend an olive branch to Hamas.
President Mahmud Abbas's Palestinian Authority runs the Israeli-occupied West Bank while its Hamas opponents seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.