Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas waves to the crowd during a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah upon his return from the UN General Assembly in the US, Sept 25, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

GAZA - Gaza's Hamas rulers on Sunday welcomed Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' intention to open deep dialogue with the Islamic movement.

"We welcome the move that empowers the Palestinians and leads to unity," said Mohammed Awad, Hamas' minister of foreign affairs.

Abbas made his remarks about the dialogue on Sunday en route to the West Bank from New York, where he submitted a request for a full membership of a Palestinian state to the United Nations.

Awad criticized Abbas for going to the UN without consulting Hamas and reaching "a Palestinian consensus," and for proposing a Palestinian state only on the lands occupied by Israel in 1967.

Hamas, which took over Gaza in 2007, believes in violent resistance against Israel and opposes peace talks with the Jewish state.

In May, Hamas and Abbas' Fatah party signed an agreement to reconcile and restore political unity to Gaza and the West Bank, but the two sides have not implemented the articles of the agreement.