Fatah Frees 40 Hamas Prisoners In WBank - Lawmaker

`Some 40 political detainees were freed on Tuesday,` Ayman Daraghmeh of Hamas`s Reform and Change bloc told Reuters.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction released some 40 Hamas prisoners in the West Bank ahead of a reconciliation summit hosted by Egypt, a lawmaker from the Islamist group said on Wednesday.

"Some 40 political detainees were freed on Tuesday," Ayman Daraghmeh of Hamas's Reform and Change bloc told Reuters. "We consider this a positive development."

A Fatah official confirmed on condition of anonymity that 40 "security prisoners" were released, but said they were freed because their sentences had ended.

Abbas's Palestinian Authority denies Hamas accusations that supporters of the Islamist group held in West Bank jails were detained for political reasons. Fatah has also accused Hamas of targeting its supporters in the Gaza Strip.

The rival factions were to meet in Cairo later in the day to try to heal a rift that has been widening since Hamas won a 2006 parliamentary election. The schism worsened a year later after Hamas forces wrested control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah.

A Hamas official in Gaza said that Fatah had sent the Islamist group the names of 38 Hamas activists freed on Tuesday and promised to release more prisoners later this week.

The official said the two rivals met on Tuesday to try to settle a dispute over political detainees. Broader unity talks with other factions will take place later this week.