Mr Abbas will meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, but the delegation from Hamas - which dominates Gaza - will meet only senior officials.

Palestinian militants breached the wall between Gaza and Egypt a week ago after Israel tightened its blockade on Gaza.

Egyptian efforts to reseal the border by force have failed.

Palestinians are still coming across, but the Egyptian authorities have now stopped the supply of goods to Rafah to stem the influx.

Israel tightened its embargo on Gaza after a sharp rise in rocket attacks from the Palestinian territory on its southern towns, leading to acute shortages.

Hamas involvement

This will be the first time a delegation from Hamas has been received in Cairo since the militant group seized control of Gaza in June ousting the Palestinian Authority of Mr Abbas.

Since the takeover, Egypt has kept its border with the territory closed almost continuously to put pressure on the Islamist group, but it has become clear that Hamas needs to be involved if Egypt is to restore its control over its border, says the BBC's Heba Saleh in Cairo.

The Palestinian president is refusing to talk to Hamas until it has given up control of Gaza.

Cairo does not recognise Hamas as the legitimate authority in Gaza and it wants the forces of Mr Abbas to operate the Rafah crossing.

That is also the Israeli position, but Hamas insists it should share in controlling the crossing, so it is not at all clear that an agreement on the orderly functioning of the border can be reached quickly.

(BBC)

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