Egypt has been forced to postpone a high-profile meeting aimed at ending a long-running conflict between the two largest Palestinian factions, after the Islamist Hamas group said it would not attend the talks.

The meetings were supposed to start in Cairo on Sunday, and lead to the formation of a new Palestinian unity government. Senior Hamas officials blamed the collapse on Fatah, which it said had refused to release Hamas followers from prison. Hamas itself last week released several Fatah prisoners in the Gaza Strip, which it took over last year. The Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority continues to govern the West Bank.