Hamas seized full control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 creating a bitter divide with Fatah [AFP]

"We received yesterday a draft of the Egyptian vision for Palestinian reconciliation which includes a call for a full Palestinian dialogue in November," Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said on Monday.

"Hamas has no problem in attending [such a meeting] and we were the first to call for Palestinian-Palestinian talks to end the internal conflict," Barhoum said.

The two main Palestinian movements have been bitterly divided since Hamas seized full control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, pushing out security forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and Fatah leader.

Dr Abdallah Abdallah, a member of the Palestinian parliament for Fatah, said: "The Egyptian government has submitted its invitation to all thirteen Palestinian factions."

He did not confirm if Fatah would attend the talks.

Presidential term

The divisions between Fatah and Hamas have grown worse in recent weeks amid a disagreement over when Abbas's presidential term ends.

Hamas has said that Abbas, elected in January 2005, will cease to be president once his constitutionally mandated four-year term officially expires on January 8.

Abbas loyalists, citing a Palestinian law, say that presidential and parliamentary elections must be held at the same time, which would extend his term to 2010.

"The Egyptian government has submitted its invitation to all thirteen Palestinian factions," Dr Abdallah Abdallah, a member of the Palestinian parliament for Fatah, said.

Abbas has called for the establishment of a politically independent national unity government to pave the way for elections to be held at an agreed upon time.

This position was reflected in a draft reconciliation plan, obtained by media, that has been put forward by Egyptian mediators ahead of the talks.

The plan calls for "the establishment of a national consensus government" that would lift the international blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections.

Israel imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip after Hamas took full control, limiting supplies and economic activity in the territory.

The plan also also provides for an independent Palestinian security force with assistance from Arab states and the incorporation of Hamas into the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) headed by Abbas, which is responsible for negotiations with Israel.

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