A Hamas delegation has left the Gaza Strip for Cairo to prepare for a new round of inter-Palestinian dialogue that Egypt hosts, Palestinian sources said on Monday.

The sources said the delegation crossed through Rafah border crossing Sunday night on the second day of a partial opening of the border by Egypt.

Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader based in Gaza, said he was optimistic that the upcoming round of unity and reconciliation dialogue would succeed.

The dialogue will resume on April 26 and will first comprise Hamas and its bitter rival of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement. The goal is to form a government that would restore political ties to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-ruled West Bank.

According to Zahar, Hamas envoys "hold new ideas regarding the formation of the new Palestinian government." The delegation is headed by Salah al-Bardaweel, a Hamas lawmaker.

In previous talks, the two sides agreed on forming a transitional government and holding elections by January 2010. However, they failed to agree on the government's political program and the electoral law.

Since Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces and seized the Gaza Strip in 2007, a new Western-backed government was formed in the West Bank while Israel and Egypt tightened a blockade on the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave.

Fatah says the upcoming government must recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by peace deals to enjoy international recognition, but Hamas strongly rejects such demands.