CAIRO - Palestinian factions have agreed to hold general elections by end-2018 after talks in Cairo spearheaded by rivals Hamas and Fatah, a joint statement by all the groups which took part said on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the factions deferred the choice of a final date for the elections to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the statement said.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Catherine Evans) ((Nadine.Awadalla@thomsonreuters.com;))