A delegation representing Fatah movement arrived in Egypt on Sunday for talks with officials aimed at starting a national dialogue between rival factions, the Egyptian MENA news agency said.

The Fatah delegation, headed by President Mahmud Abbas adviser Nabil Shaath, was to meet Egyptian intelligence chief negotiator Omar Suleiman on Tuesday, MENA said.

"The meeting is part of a series of bilateral talks between Egypt and the Palestinian factions aimed at defining a unified Palestinian position to be presented at the comprehensive meeting of the factions which will take place in the second half of October," it reported.

Egypt has been holding separate talks with rival Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah which have been bitterly divided since June 2007 when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from forces loyal to Fatah.

Cairo has been acting as a mediator between the two groups, and between Hamas and Israel, which views the Islamist movement as a terrorist group.

A delegation from Hamas is expected in Cairo on October 8, the agency said.

(AFP via Alarabiya.net)