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.