By Abdul Raheem Ali, IOL Correspondent

CAIRO, September 17 (IslamOnline.net) – The new round of inter-Palestinian dialogue, slated for Sunday, September 19, is expected to be delayed over the opposition of some Palestinian factions to the mechanism of dialogue suggested by Egypt, but Egyptian diplomatic efforts to contain such opposition continue, Egyptian and Palestinian sources revealed.

The postponement loomed large as some Palestinian factions rejected an Egyptian request to hold the first round of the national Palestinian dialogue only among the five major Palestinian factions, the sources told IslamOnline.net Thursday, September 16.

The major five factions invited to attend the talks are Fatah, Hamas and Jihad, along with the Popular and Democratic Fronts for the liberation of Palestine.

The inter-Palestinian dialogue in Cairo seeks the formation of a unified Palestinian leadership to bear the responsibility of running Gaza Strip following the proposed Israeli withdrawal.

Request

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had earlier sent a message to the Egyptian officials urging them to allow all Palestinian factions to attend the inter-Palestinian dialogue in Cairo, the sources said.

Egypt has stipulated the national Palestinian dialogue to begin with bilateral talks between the Egyptian officials and representatives of the five major Palestinian factions, followed by talks among the five factions themselves before concluding with talks among all Palestinian factions, the sources quoted Arafat as telling the PLO Executive Committee.

Due to opposition from the Palestinian factions that were not invited to attend the talks, the Palestinian leader stressed he would contact the Egyptian officials to clarify the stand of the PLO Executive Committee in this regard, the sources added.