Six Islamic Hamas movement members suddenly left the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing Saturday for talks with senior Egyptian officials in Cairo on dialogue with their Palestinian arch-rivals Fatah, a senior Egyptian security source said, according to dpa. "The Hamas delegation that left Gaza through Gaza Strip-Egypt Rafah border crossing and headed to Cairo is chaired by Gaza Hamas strongman Mahmoud al-Zahar," the source told the Bethlehem-based local news agency "Maan". The source told the independent Palestinian news agency that "Egypt will discuss with the six Hamas leaders the fate of the upcoming inter-Palestinian dialogue with the Fatah movement." The Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo Saturday afternoon, accompanied by heavy Egyptian security forces all the way from the Gaza-Egypt border, according to the source. Al-Zahar and the Hamas delegation were met by senior Egyptian security intelligence at the Rafah crossing and immediately headed to Cairo, said the source. Well-informed Palestinian sources said that the Hamas leaders would go on to other Arab countries, including Syria, for further discussions and consultations with other Hamas leaders. After the last round of dialogue between rival Hamas and Fatah failed in Cairo in July, the Egyptians told the two sides that the next round of dialogue would take place in Cairo on August 25. Tension between the two groups escalated after Fatah held its sixth general congress in Bethlehem, with Hamas banning travel to there of Gaza congress members.
