Palestinian prime minister arrives in Gaza amid reconciliation hopes

Palestinian Authority prime minister Rami Hamdallah travelled to Gaza yesterday amid expressions of optimism that the rival Fatah and Hamas movements would finally reconcile and end a decade-old division that has set back statehood aspirations.

Hundreds of Palestinians, many of them waving flags, and a Hamas police honour guard greeted Mr Hamdallah and his delegation of ministers and officials as they arrived from the West Bank. He was due to meet senior Hamas leaders later in the day.

Today, the prime minister will chair the first meeting of the PA cabinet in Gaza in three years as his ministers, whose responsibilities had been confined to the West Bank, resume their roles in the crowded coastal enclave that Hamas has controlled since ousting PA forces in a brief civil war a decade ago.

The coup left Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement in control only of self-rule enclaves in the West Bank. Repeated attempts to heal the rift failed, with each side unwilling to give up its monopoly on power in its area.

The current reconciliation effort is seen as having a better chance of success because of Hamas’s weakness and its need to maintain good ties with Egypt, which is brokering the reconciliation. But differences over security and in particular the role of Hamas’s Izzedin Al Qassam armed wing are among remaining major challenges to unity.

The resumption of the PA role in Gaza – and Mr Hamdallah’s visit – were made possible when Hamas decided to scrap an administrative committee it named to govern Gaza six months ago. At the same time, the movement said it would welcome the PA back in the Strip.

Analysts say the Hamas shift came about because of factors including hard-hitting economic steps imposed by Mr Abbas, such as cutting electricity payments to Israel, which caused blackouts, and the slashing of salaries of civil servants. But they also say the weakening and isolation of Hamas’s main financial backer