President Mahmoud Abbas said today Palestinians were turning the page on division at a ceremony in Egypt to heal a four-year rift between his Fatah movement and Islamist group Hamas.
There was a brief delay in the ceremony in Cairo over where Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal should sit. Critics have cast doubt on the durability of the Egyptian-brokered accord that has been denounced by Israel.
The deal calls for forming an interim government to run the occupied West Bank, where Mr Abbas is based, and Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections within a year.
Palestinians see this reconciliation as crucial for their drive to establish an independent state in the territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war.
"We announce to Palestinians that we turn forever the black page of division," said Mr Abbas in his opening address.
"We announce the good news from Egypt which has always carried its national and historical responsibility towards the Palestinian people. Four black years have affected the interests of Palestinians. Now we meet to assert a unified will," he said.
Mr Meshaal said his group wants the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with Jerusalem as its capital.
"Our aim is to establish a free and completely sovereign Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, whose capital is Jerusalem, without any settlers and without giving up a single inch of land and without giving up on the right of return (of Palestinian refugees)," he told the ceremony.
The ceremony had been briefly delayed by a disagreement over protocol. Palestinian sources said the dispute was over whether Mr Meshaal should sit on the podium with Mr Abbas or among other Palestinian delegates in the hall.
At the ceremony, Mr Abbas was initially on the podium to give his speech, and then r Meshaal took the podium for his address.
Shortly before the ceremony, senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath said: "The signing has been done, everyone signed. Today is the crowning of this achievement."
Egypt has set up a committee to oversee implementation of the accord, which calls for creating an interim unity government for the West Bank and Gaza Strip instead of the administrations led by Fatah and Hamas that run each territory.
The ceremony was attended by representatives from the Arab League, Qatar, Oman and Arab members of the Israeli parliament.
Palestinian officials said today's ceremony was a "celebration".
In Hamas-controlled Gaza, university students distributed sweets, sang and rallied to mark the deal.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced the deal and stopped transferring Palestinian tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, saying Fatah must choose between Israel and Hamas, which he says is an enemy of peace.
The United States has reacted coolly to the reconciliation accord. State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing in Washington the United States would look at the formation of any new Palestinian government before taking steps on future aid.