Qatari Emir Makes Landmark Visit to Gaza

(Gaza) – Qatar’s emir is on a landmark tour of the Gaza Strip. The visit is first of any kind made by a head of state since the Islamist Hamas movement took over in 2007. Thousands of Qatari and Palestinian flags were fluttering across Gaza to mark the visit by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to inaugurate a multi-million dollar project to rebuild the impoverished Palestinian territory.
Gaza’s Hamas Prime Minister, Ismail Haniya hailed the visit as a “victory” over the political and economic siege on his Islamist government.