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High-Profile Gaza Visitors Leave Hollow Mark

Leaders from the Islamic world have begun making their way to Gaza, but their visits do little to advance the Palestinian cause.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh drives a car as the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani sits next to him after a visit at the Islamic University in Gaza City October 23, 2012. The Emir of Qatar embraced the Hamas leadership of Gaza on Tuesday with an official visit that broke the isolation of the Palestinian Islamist movement, to the dismay of Israel and rival, Western-backed Palestinian leaders. REUTERS/Wissam Nassar/Pool (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR39HDC

It is easy to tell when a high-profile delegation is visiting Gaza. Flags of the delegation's home country are suddenly fluttering on the lampposts of Gaza's main roads, and billboards offer words and images of gratitude to the "honorable" guests coming to stand with their kinfolk in their struggle for liberation.

The past few months have witnessed a string of such visits, all of which marked the first of their kind since Hamas took power in June 2007. The Hamas government often brands these visits as "courageous" actions aimed at breaking the siege and isolation imposed on Gaza by Israel. Critics, however, see things differently.

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