The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the issue of security was the main obstacle in the meetings that started last Tuesday in Damascus.

The source added that the gap between the two sides is very big.

However, officials from both sides confirmed that the meetings would continue after Eid Al-Adha holidays.

Explaining the divisions, Azzam Al-Ahmad, head of Fatah's delegation at the talks, said that both sides claimed to be in charge of the legitimate security service.

Al-Ahmad said the security services in the West Bank are "complete and legitimate and cannot be restructured." He suggested the Gaza forces be the ones restructured because they were more recently formed.

During the unity meetings in Damascus, Hamas official Al-Ahmad made the counter-claim that the Gaza security forces were formed more along the lines of the national agenda.

Expressing his frustration at the situation, Al-Ahmad said he felt sorry for “we wasted one year and half in talks with Hamas which have resulted in nothing."