DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia welcomed the reconciliation of rival factions Hamas and Fatah and said it will help Palestinians to gain their legitimate rights, the state news agency SPA reported on Friday.

Citing an official source in the kingdom’s foreign ministry, SPA said Saudi Arabia hopes the reconciliation will “realize the brotherly Palestinian people’s hope of ending divisions and achieving unity”.

Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement on Thursday after Hamas agreed to hand over administrative control of Gaza, including the key Rafah border crossing, a decade after seizing the enclave in a civil war.