RAMALLAH, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of 14 Palestinian political factions will resume their intra-national dialogue in Egypt's capital Cairo on March 16, said a senior official on Thursday.

Jibril Rajoub, secretary-general of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas-led Fatah party, told Palestine Television that leaders of the 14 Palestinian factions will join the second round of the intra-national dialogue in Cairo on March 16.

"Ending internal Palestinian division and building a political partnership is a strategic choice," Rajoub said.

He said representatives of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (PCC) will also join the dialogue.

Besides ending the internal division, the leaders will also discuss clear mechanisms on holding the upcoming general elections in the Palestinian territories, he added.

In the first round of the intra-national dialogue that ended in Cairo earlier last month, the leaders of the 14 factions, including Hamas and Fatah, agreed to hold the general elections as scheduled.

The factions also agreed to set up an electoral court, which will include judges from East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In January, Abbas announced that the 2021 general elections will include legislative elections on May 22, presidential elections on July 31, and the Palestinian National Council elections on Aug. 31.

The last Palestinian presidential elections were held in March 2005, and the legislative elections in January 2006.

The internal Palestinian division between Hamas and Fatah began in 2007 when Hamas forcibly took over the Gaza Strip from Fatah. Since then, the Palestinian territories have been split into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-dominated West Bank. Enditem

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