Gaza-ruling Islamic Hamas movement on Sunday welcomed earlier media reports saying that Egypt intends to send a high-ranking security delegation to Gaza as soon as a reconciliation deal is reached with rival President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah movement.

Deputy head of Hamas Political Bureau, Musa Abu Marzouq, who is in Damascus told the London-based al-Hayyat Daily that "We welcome the return of the Egyptian security delegation to Gaza, because such a positive step would be positively reflected on the inter-dialogue."

Asked about the dialogue and if Hamas received an invitation from Cairo to join a sixth round of inter-dialogue, he said: "We haven't been invited, and there are no fixed dates," adding "If Egypt deals with the two leaderships (Hamas and Fatah) equally, the dialogue will for sure be positive."

Ramzi Rabah, a senior Democratic Front to Liberate Palestine (DFLP) leader had earlier told Xinhua that Egypt intends to invite Palestinian conferees, members of five committees to convene in Cairo next week to finalize a draft of a reconciliation agreement.

Earlier on Sunday, Palestinian sources said that Egypt will send a security delegation to the Gaza Strip to follow up the implementation of a national Palestinian agreement of reconciliation that Cairo is currently trying to broker, mainly between rival Fatah and Hamas movements.

The sources told Xinhua that the delegation will mainly oversee the reforming of the security services, now controlled and run by Islamic Hamas movement which routed Abbas' forces in a June 2007 deadly fighting.

In addition, the delegation will also try to renew ceasefire between Israel and the armed Palestinian groups in Gaza and deal with a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel, the sources added.

Egypt closed its representation office in Gaza and withdrew all the staff, including the security mission, after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 following a week of bloody armed fighting with Fatah militants.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2009)