RIYADH, (PIC)-- A high-level Hamas delegation led by Khaled Mishaal, the political bureau chief of the Movement, arrived in Riyadh at the invitation of the Saudi leadership to discuss means of restoring Palestinian national dialogue, a senior Hamas official revealed on Sunday.

Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha told Quds Press that a meeting was already held between the Hamas delegation and the Saudi leadership and that other meetings were scheduled in a bid to find a way out of the Palestinian internal crisis and to brief the Saudi officials on developments on the ground.

Taha welcomed the Saudi efforts and added, "We in Hamas do not mind holding unconditional dialogue and welcome any effort exerted to return to dialogue and end the state of internal division but without any pre-conditions. This is our vision that we voiced since the crisis started and we are still convinced with it".

The spokesman denied his knowledge whether a Fatah delegation was also invited to Saudi Arabia, adding that the Hamas delegation arrived in Riyadh at the invitation of the Saudi leadership to brief them on recent developments and not for having dialogue with Fatah.

The Saudi efforts started after news surfaced of an Egyptian effort to restore unity in the Palestinian ranks. Chief of the Egyptian intelligence Omar Suleiman contacted Mishaal over the phone for the same purpose. However, an Egyptian MP and chief editor of weekly Al-Osbo, Mustafa Bakri, said that all such efforts were foiled by the rejection of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas and his entourage.