Palestinian factions Hamas, Fatah reach unity deal Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, left, talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in December in Konya, Turkey. Palestinians meet in Qatar to sign a national reconciliation agreement Hamas leader says both groups are serious about moving forward General elections are tentatively scheduled for May Pressure grows from Arab countries and Turkey for Hamas to distance itself from Syria Jerusalem (CNN) -- Rival Palestinian political factions Fatah and Hamas named President Mahmoud Abbas the head of an interim unity government during a televised signing ceremony Monday. The deal was signed in Doha, Qatar, by Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who said last month he plans to step down from his post. "The Palestinian reconciliation is no longer a Palestinian interest but also an Arab interest," Abbas said. "Both parties are serious in moving forward to fold the page of strife between both parties and to strengthen the Palestinian national unity government," according to Meshaal. Independent Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti said the agreement represents progress. "What we see is a slow movement, and we hope that this meeting will give a push to reconciliation to go faster," he said. I hope that the most important thing that this agreement will lead to is actual activation of real democratic system and that all obstacles that are still in the way of election will be removed. The deal comes amid increased pressure from various Arab countries and Turkey for Hamas to distance itself from the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. For more than 10 months, Syrian security forces have launched a brutal crackdown against anti-government protesters. United Nations officials have said an estimated 6,000 people have died, and opposition activists estimate at least 7,300 people have been killed. For years, Hamas has maintained its headquarters in Syria's capital, Damascus, and has received both monetary and military support from the al-Assad regime. But in an apparent nod to changing regional politics, Hamas is distancing itself from its long-time patron. In recent weeks Hamas personnel and their families have left Syria. In a recent regional trip, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya did not visit Syria. The national reconciliation agreement came together last year after lengthy negotiations. The deal establishes a new parliament and a date for general elections, tentatively scheduled for May Both parties are serious in moving forward to fold the page of strife between both parties Khaled Meshaal, Hamas leader The move comes amid international efforts for statehood advanced by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah. It could portend unity in the fractious Palestinian territories. The two political factions have been close to civil war, culminating in 2007 when Hamas took control of Gaza after deadly fighting with Fatah partisans. Fatah retained control of the other Palestinian territory, the West Bank. The Mideast Quartet -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- has called on the new government to renounce terror and recognize Israel. The deal signed Monday also includes an agreement over security issues that have kept the two sides apart, Hamas officials have said. For years, there has been a big divide between the hard-line, anti-Israel Hamas and Fatah, which has engaged in peace negotiations with Israel. In the recent past, both sides sought reconciliation, but those efforts failed. Hamas is an Islamist political movement based in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank. It was formed in 1987 at the start of the first Palestinian intifada as an Islamic resistance movement to Israeli occupation. It took control of Gaza in 2007 after failing to maintain a coalition government with the Palestinian Authority, dominated by its rival Fatah. The group's military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, has claimed responsibility for terrorist operations including suicide bombings, car bombings, and rocket attacks in Israel, as well as attacks on Israel settlers who live in the West Bank and previously lived in Gaza. Those attacks have claimed the lives of hundreds of Israeli civilians. The United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Israel and militants in Gaza have fought continually for years. Israel has retaliated against Gaza militants who have fired missiles into southern Israeli towns. CNN's Kareem Khadder and Kevin Flower contributed to this report.