Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, entered the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in a landmark trip that makes him the first head of state to visit the Palestinian territory since Hamas seized control of the Strip five years ago.  The trip is billed as a humanitarian visit inaugurating around $400mn worth of reconstruction projects to build in the southern part of the Strip. However, the trip drew fire from Israel, whose Foreign Ministry spokesman said it was “astounding” that Qatar was taking sides, noting that the Emir has never “dignified” the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.