In his first official trip abroad since his radical Palestinian group came to power in 2007, Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, is on a tour of the Middle East, with stops that have so far included Egypt, Sudan and earlier this week, Turkey.
The visits aim to strengthen ties in the region in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings, which have so seen the rise to prominence of Islamist parties in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco.
“Islamist political victories in Egypt and beyond have created a more conducive regional political environment, which Hamas seeks to capitalize on,” said Haim Malka, deputy director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.