A Pr Coup for Hamas

Hamas has good reason to celebrate the release of Alan Johnston, for it demonstrates both to the Palestinians and the wider international community that, just three weeks after taking over, it can run the show in the Gaza Strip.

Jubilant spokesmen from the deposed prime minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City to the exiled Khaled Mishal in Damascus wasted no time in making the connection between the BBC man's freedom and their wider political ambitions.

As the dramatic news broke there was already excited talk of the Islamist movement "proving its credibility" and of the hope that with Johnston now finally free, the siege on Hamas could be lifted too. If Hamastan is seen to be functioning, this line of thinking goes, then Hamastan can break out of its isolation. "We hope that order, security and an end to anarchy will also reach the West Bank," Mr Haniyeh said in a clear jibe at Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and Fatah leader.

There was even renewed discussion of the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, whose capture almost a year ago - after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip - sparked off both the latest Palestinian crisis and the Israel's war against Hizbullah in Lebanon. Benign scenarios are always risky in the Middle East, but a deal over Corporal Shalit - that would have to involve the release by the Israelis of hundreds of Palestinians - could unlock much more.

The fact that Johnston's release has given Hamas a welcome bounce was reflected in the sour reactions from the Fatah camp in the West Bank, still stunned by its humiliating loss of Gaza last month. "We're watching a movie where the thieves in Gaza fall out and one of them claims to be honest and brave and other is the bad guy," sneered Yasser Abed Rabbo, an aide to President Abbas.

Each side again blamed the other for links with Jaish al-Islam, the shadowy clan-based group that had been holding the BBC man, with Hamas hinting heavily that Fatah had been in league with them, or too weak to tackle them. Mr Mashal, countered Mr Abed Rabbo "is trying to gain sympathy for creating a Taliban principality in Gaza".

Hamas's PR coup is certainly well timed. Mr Haniyeh has been trying in vain to mend fences with Mr Abbas in the certain knowledge that a permanent split between Gaza and the West Bank will not serve the wider interests of the Palestinian people. Israel, along with Jordan and Egypt, has been encouraging that split. The US, EU and others have give their full backing to Salam Fayyad, the former World Bank economist and technocrat appointed interim prime minister. Mr Fayyad's government paid salaries to Palestinian Authority employees for the first time in 18 months this week after Israel released tax revenues it had refused to pay while Hamas was in power.

Showing that it can deliver results in Gaza should help strengthen Hamas' hand in its attempts to restore some kind of unity - whatever angry Fatah officials say. Still, although Hamas is strong in parts of the West Bank it cannot make much more headway as long as the Israeli army and the Shin Bet secret service operate freely there. Renewed cooperation between the Israelis and Fatah intelligence- bringing furious charges of collaboration from Hamas - will doubtless make life harder for the Islamists.

Another positive sign in recent days is that Hamas in Gaza has begun drafting former members of the Fatah security forces, including those who used to work at the border crossings into Israel. Life, in short, has its own logic beyond politics. Controlling the streets is one thing, but meeting the needs of 1.4 million people, including the desperate need to work in Israel, quite another.

Hamas still faces other grave problems if it is to emerge from the doghouse and restore Palestinian unity. Will the quartet of international peacemakers, shortly to be represented by Tony Blair, be looking again at the three conditions it set for dealing with Hamas: the recognition of Israel, an end to violence, and respect for existing peace agreements? The events of recent weeks strengthen the case for looking at Palestinian deeds rather than its words, at valuing pragmatism and delivery, at engagement rather than boycotts. Proof - in the welcome sight of a very relieved British journalist - that Hamas can keep its own house in order should help shift things in that direction.