Cairo- Representatives of rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas have held preliminary talks in Cairo, in what Egypt hopes will be the first of many meetings on forming a national unity government, the al-Arabiya TV news channel reported Wednesday.

The meeting, which took place late Tuesday, was attended by the head of Fatah's parliamentary bloc, Azam al-Ahmad, Fatah spokesman Ahmed Abdel-Rahman and senior Hamas officials Jamal Abu-Hashim and Ayman Taha, al-Arabiya said.

Representatives from the two Palestinian delegations could not immediately be reached for comment, and al-Arabiya did not elaborate on what was discussed at the meeting.

The Hamas delegation is in Cairo for still more meetings with Egyptian intelligence officials aimed at striking a long-term ceasefire deal with the Israelis and to open Gaza's borders.

Egypt has invited Palestinian factions to attend reconciliation talks in Cairo, scheduled for February 22.

Delegations from the two Damascus-based factions, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front of the Liberation of Palestine, also arrived Tuesday to meet with Egyptian intelligence officials before the talks, the London-based pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Wednesday.

Cairo has been trying to broker a reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas since September 2008. But the last round of talks stalled in November, when Hamas refused to continue participating in meetings until Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas released Hamas supporters held in Fatah-controlled prisons in the West Bank. (dpa)