DAMASCUS, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday that his country would intensify efforts to regain the Palestinian unity, the official SANA news agency reported.

    Assad made the remarks while meeting with the politburo leader of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, Khaled Meshaal.

    Syria supports the Palestinian negotiating stance and the return of their legitimate rights, on top the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, Assad asserted.

    For his part, Meshaal thanked Assad for the aid offered by Syria to the Palestinian people and its efforts to regain unity among the Palestinians and lift the siege imposed on Gaza, SANA reported.