Ismail Haniyeh met with deposed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh met with deposed Fatah movement leader Mohammed Dahlan, a senior member of Hamas has revealed.

But Mohammad Nazzal told Alaraby TV on Friday that he would not reveal details of the meeting, as he called for general Palestinian elections once the Gaza war ends.

He said Hamas was not in favour of a political rupture, adding that the group will not close its doors to direct talks with any party.

A rivalry has existed between Hamas and Fatah since 2007, when Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip and expelled Fatah from the enclave. The Fatah movement is led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Several attempts to reconcile the two biggest Palestinian factions have failed.

Dahlan was appointed head of the preventative security force in Gaza between 1994 and 2002, after the Oslo Accords, but he fell out with the PA after the coastal enclave fell to Hamas.

He lives in exile in the United Arab Emirates.

In an interview with The New York Times published on Wednesday, Dahlan spoke about plans being discussed "privately" by Arab leaders regarding the future of Gaza.

According to the plan, there would be a new and independent Palestinian leader assuming responsibility in the Gaza Strip and parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and someone who would be able to rebuild war-torn Gaza.

"No Abbas, no Hamas. New people in charge of the Palestinian Authority," he told The New York Times.