Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal called on Monday for dialogue to resolve the tense situation in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

"We have called for the launch of a Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue to discuss all the problems of Palestinian camps, Ain el-Hilweh or others," Mashaal said in Beirut, referring to the tension inside the camp which is located east of the southern port city of Sidon.

"Addressing these problems should be conducted through dialogue and under the umbrella of sovereignty of law and the Lebanese state," he added.

Mashaal, who lives in Syria, met Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Seniora, parliament speaker Nabih Berri, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah as well as parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri.

"We will not export our differences in Palestine to Lebanon, which has its own (differences)... especially after the return to a reasonable situation in Lebanon," Mashaal said.

Lebanon is home to an estimated 367,000 Palestinian refugees who live in 12 camps throughout the country.

Extremists believed to have links with Al-Qaeda have settled in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps, especially in Ain el-Hilweh which has a population of more than
70,000.

"The issue of weapons inside and outside Palestinian refugee camps can only be solved through dialogue between Palestinians and Lebanese people," he said, adding that Hamas will follow up this matter and will make efforts to resolve it.

It was the first known trip to Beirut by Mashaal since Israeli warplanes destroyed his faction's office in the Lebanese capital during the 2006 war with Hezbollah.

Mashaal's movements are generally kept secret because of assassination fears.

On and off clashes between Hamas and the other major Palestinian faction, Fatah, have increased the tension inside the Palestinian camps.

Security inside the camps is in the hands of Palestinian factions, but the Lebanese army maintains checkpoints at the entrance of each camp to monitor movements in and out of the shantytowns.