Cairo  - A delegation of senior members of the Palestinian group Hamas arrived in Cairo Tuesday for talks with Egyptian officials aimed at ending the Hamas-Fatah power struggle in Gaza and the West Bank and achieving Palestinian national reconciliation.

Headed by Musa Abu Marzouk, the deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, the delegation is expected to hold a series of meetings with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman, who co-ordinates mediation between Palestinian factions, Egypt's state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) has reported.

The delegation also included three other senior Hamas officials - Mahmoud Zahar, Said Siyam and Khalil Abu Hayeh - from the Gaza Strip.

The visit to Cairo is the first by a high-level Hamas delegation in several months, and marks the conclusion of a series of meetings hosted by the Egyptian government with various Palestinian factions including the rival Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

This current Hamas meeting is regarded by analysts as a make-or- break meeting for relations between Hamas and Fatah.

If the meeting succeeds, an all-inclusive meeting will be held at the beginning of November in Cairo.

The talks with Hamas are aimed at producing agreement on a viable government that eventually would lead to presidential and legislative elections in the Palestinian territories.

Egypt's proposal aims at reuniting all Palestinian groups and ending the rivalry between Fatah and Hamas which has been going on since the Islamist movement took over the Gaza Strip in June 2007.

A 14-article initiative is reportedly being presented by Cairo.

The proposals call for the establishment of a new government consisting solely of independent figures, reconstructing the Palestinian security forces, ending Hamas's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip and reforming the PLO.

They also call for holding new presidential and parliamentary elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the coming months.

Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar told the Egyptian daily al-Ahram that "in any agreement with Fatah we will focus on details. The general un-detailed agreements are the reason why previous Arab initiatives failed [to end the feud]."

In February 2007, Fatah and Hamas agreed in Mecca to end their in- fighting and form a national unity government. However, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended the government following Hamas' Gaza takeover.

Possible obstacles to a present agreement include Hamas' opposition to the idea of the formation of a technocrat cabinet without Hamas and Fatah representatives.

Hamas, on the other hand, calls for a national unity government with the rival Fatah and other Palestinian organizations, an arrangement in which it would most likely be the senior partner.

Hamas also rejects an Egyptian proposal to deploy Arab security forces in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Hamas stressed this week its strong opposition to PA President Mahmoud Abbas's attempts to extend his tenure beyond January 2009.

Abbas, whose term in office will expire on January 9, 2009, has expressed his desire to remain in office for an additional year - a move strongly opposed by Hamas and other Palestinians as a violation of the PA Basic law.

The Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council on Monday ruled that it would not recognize Abbas as president of the PA after the expiration of his term. (dpa)