EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- A Hamas delegation left Gaza on Friday to participate in reconciliation talks with Fatah representatives in Cairo.

Twenty-two officials from the Islamist group, including Salah al-Bardawil and Ismail al-Ashqar, crossed the Rafah terminal en-route to the Egyptian capital to meet Egyptian and Palestinian officials.

Independent Palestinian political leaders and some faction representatives had traveled to Cairo on Friday for meetings on implementing the national reconciliation agreement, independent leaders said.

President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Khaled Mashaal of Hamas met face-to-face in Cairo on Wednesday, for the first time in over a year.

They also met separately with Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi, and an Egyptian official said the leaders agreed to implement the Egyptian-sponsored deal from 2011.