Hamas leader Haniya begins visit to Qatar, Iran

Ismail Haniya, the premier of the Hamas administration ruling the Gaza Strip, began a foreign tour Monday to countries including Qatar and Iran, the Islamist group's main patron dpa reported On Tuesday, Haniya will meet the emir of Qatar, said his aide Yousef Rezqah. "The political situation and the internal Palestinian reconciliation will be discussed in the meeting," said a statement from Rezqah. Haniya will also focus on "the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip amid the long-awaited Qatari pledges to aid different projects, such as the sports city and aiding the services sectors, mainly health and education." Haniya's convoy crossed into Egypt through the Rafah crossing point on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, en route to al-Arish, where a special Qatari aircraft will fly him to Doha, officials said. The tour is Haniya's second foreign trip in one month. He visited Egypt, Sudan, Turkey and Tunis in December. Haniya's is one of the names mooted to succeed Khaled Meshaal as the head of the Hamas politburo, should the exiled leader step down.