Gaza City/Cairo - Negotiators from rival Palestinian factions were due to resume talks in Cairo aimed at establishing a "national unity" government on Wednesday, representatives of the factions and Egyptian officials said.

Delegates from Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction, which controls the West Bank, arrived in Cairo Tuesday night and had preliminary talks ahead of a wider meeting including representatives from other factions.

Negotiators will try to hash out the political platform of the national unity government, lay out preparations for presidential and legislative elections and determine the composition and control of Palestinian security forces, representatives from Fatah and Hamas said.

"We are serious in this dialogue and in our efforts to achieve national unity," Ismail Radwan, a Hamas leader in Gaza, told the Palestinian Maan news agency Wednesday. "In this round of talks, we hope to reach an agreement that will enhance national unity in order to preserve non-negotiable Palestinian principles, and embrace resistance."

In the first round of Egyptian-mediated reconciliation talks, delegates agreed in principle to form an interim government and to hold fresh elections by January 25, 2010. The platform and composition of the government, however, are yet to be negotiated.

Senior Fatah leader Ahmed Qureia is to lead the Fatah delegation in Wednesday's talks, Fatah officials have said, and Mussa Abu Marzouq, from Hamas' Damascus-based politburo, is to lead his movement's delegation.

On Monday, Fatah announced that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will continue in his position until a national unity government is formed.

Fayyad had previously said he would step down effective March 31 to clear the way for a new government. Hamas has made his replacement a precondition of their participation in the interim government. (dpa)