Hamas PM to visit 4 Mideast countries soon

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya's first tour in years in the near future will include Qatar, Turkey, Tunisia and Bahrain, an aide to Haneya said Wednesday. The tour aims to garner supports for the reconstruction of Gaza and will help dismantle political siege and ease economical and financial blockade imposed on coastal enclave, said Yousef Rizka, Haneya's political adviser, in a statement sent to the media. However, the specific date of the tour is not set, he added. Since the Islamic Hamas movement routed forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and seized the Gaza Strip in 2007, Haneya has never left the strip. Israel had also imposed a tight blockade on the territory but loosed it in 2010. Most of Arab leaders boycotted the Hamas government and kept their dealing with the West Bank-based Palestinian National Authority, headed by Abbas. The United States and most of Europe countries classify Hamas as a terrorist group.