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Facebook's restriction to allow RT to post text content only was apparently linked to live-streaming rights. RT was streaming the Obama press conference broadcast from an AP direct feed, to which it is officially subscribed. The agency has confirmed to RT the issue "must have been... on [Facebook's] end."

According to the Facebook bot, the restrictions were originally set to last until Saturday 10:55pm Moscow time (2:55pm EST).

The Facebook bot notification that interrupted RT's live stream stated that rights to the content had been claimed by Current Time TV, a part of Radio Liberty and financed by the US State Department.

Current Time TV claimed it had "not sent any complaints regarding RT or any other organizations in connection with the live feed."

During the time RT's rights were blocked, it did not receive any emails from Facebook to its page administrators.

Once the restrictions had been lifted, Facebook told RT in an email that "the reasons behind the temporary block of certain functions are being determined."
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Earlier on Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman dubbed Facebook's actions "unacceptable." It might have been either a form of censorship or an "instrument of competitive struggle," Maria Zakharova said. "If it's actually perceived as censorship under a technical pretext, then it's unacceptable. It's also unacceptable because blocking of the competitive position that Russia Today (RT) TV channel has is obvious," Zakharova told a briefing in Moscow.

Meanwhile, Russia's telecom regulator, Roskomnadzor, has announced it will find ways to affect the work of American media and social networks in Russia should pressure on RT continue. "It is obvious to us that at this stage there is an unprecedented pressure on RT. And the most important thing is that it's groundless," the watchdog's head, Aleksandr Zharov, told TASS.

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Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and Hamas have been at loggerheads since the latter seized Gaza in a near civil war in 2007, after it won the 2006 legislative elections.

Last year the Palestinian government postponed the first municipal polls in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in 10 years after the high court ruled they should be held only in the Fatah-run West Bank.

The last time the Palestinians staged elections in which both Hamas and Fatah took part was in 2006.

The Palestinian representatives also met on Monday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and asked him to dissuade incoming US President Donald Trump from carrying out a campaign pledge to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

'Russian approach'

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Khaled Elgindy, a senior Brookings Institute fellow and former adviser on peace negotiations, said it is still not clear how different the latest agreement is to previous deals.

Elgindy said the "most important factor" prompting the unity agreement is the leadership change in Washington DC.

"President Abbas may be looking to shore up his domestic position, and to insulate himself from what he sees maybe as a very hostile administration coming into Washington," he said.

Al Jazeera's Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from Moscow, said the agreement in Russia signals the Palestinians "looking away" from the United States, which has been involved in the peace process for decades.

"Historically, peace discussions have been dominated by the US. They are looking for a different approach, and Russia certainly offered a different approach," she said.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian leader who is close to Hamas leadership told Al Jazeera that "things are far from clear or final yet".

"In principle, all of the Palestinian factions have agreed to form a national unity government, including Hamas, and to establish a new Palestinian National Council. But Abbas has yet to make a decision that will take concrete steps in that direction."

"Abbas will also have to consider the position of the regional Arab powers who might cast a veto on the whole thing because of their animosity toward Hamas."