Gaza  - Egypt has invited the Damascus-based leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad to Cairo to join talks aimed at reconciling Palestinian factions and forming a "national unity" government, a Palestinian news agency reported Saturday.

Gaza's Sama news agency quoted "high-ranking Palestinian sources" as saying that Egypt sent official invitations to exiled top Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and Ramadan Shallah, chief of Islamic Jihad in Syria, to join the Cairo talks. The two leaders will arrive later this week in Cairo, Sama reported.

Leaders of the rival Fatah and Hamas movements had earlier traded accusations of erecting obstacles to an agreement.

On Saturday, Sama reported that despite sticking points in the negotiations, "There had been intensive efforts by the Egyptian mediators and the factions' leaders to bridge the gaps within the coming days."

Khaled al-Batsh, a senior member of the Palestinian faction Islamic Jihad, on Saturday called previous reports that negotiating committees in Cairo had ended their discussions and would leave Egypt on Sunday morning "groundless."

"There are difficulties, but the atmosphere is still encouraging for reaching a deal within the coming few days. The differences on forming a government can be resolved by reaching a common understanding," al-Batsh said.

In a written statement sent to reporters earlier Saturday, senior Fatah leader Nabil Shaath said that factions' representatives in five committees were expected to end their discussions by Saturday evening.

Delegates had formed five committees to look at forming a national unity government, preparing for legislative and presidential elections, control of Palestinian security forces and reforming the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Hamas and Fatah leaders had traded rebukes on the shape of the national unity government and on whether such a government should recognize Israel.

"Fatah tries to draw Hamas into recognizing the Israeli occupation by putting pressure on us to say that the commitments of the PLO must be respected," Hamas lawmaker Salah al-Bardawil told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa on Saturday.

Fatah spokesman Ahmed Abdel-Rahman told reporters Saturday that Fatah is not asking Hamas to recognize Israel, "but it wants a government that is accepted by the international community and an end the siege."

The Mideast Quartet, an informal grouping of the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States, has said that a Palestinian government must abide by three conditions to gain their recognition: recognition of the state of Israel, recognition of previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians and rejection of violence.

Shaath had said that all remaining unresolved issues discussed during the five-day meetings will be conveyed to a high committee comprised of Fatah leader Ahmed Qureia, deputy Hamas politburo chief Musa Abu Marzuq, leaders of other Palestinian factions, representatives of the Arab League and Egyptian intelligence officials.

Shaath said he expected the committee to present its findings on March 23.

Delegates did report progress on the question of control of the security forces and on an agreement to stop resorting to arms to settle internal differences.

Yasser al-Wadia, an independent Palestinian academic who participated in the talks, told dpa Saturday that delegates had agreed not to resort to force to settle inter-Palestinian disputes.

He said that his committee had agreed on mechanisms to compensate Palestinians for losses caused by the political split between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-controlled West Bank. dpa