Palestinian premier in Gaza Ismail Haniya was in Sudan on Wednesday as part of his first official tour of the region since the Hamas movement seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Palestinian premier in Gaza Ismail Haniya was in Sudan on Wednesday as part of his first official tour of the region since the Hamas movement seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Haniya flew to Khartoum on Tuesday evening for an "official visit" and to attend a forum on Al-Quds (Jerusalem), the official SUNA news agency reported.

The PM was greeted at Khartoum Airport by Ibrahim Ahmed Omar, an adviser to President Omar al-Bashir. It is scheduled that Haniya would meet Bashir.

The Al Quds Forum is an annual gathering which focuses on Jerusalem, the eastern sector of which was occupied by the Zionist entity during the 1967 Middle East war and annexed shortly afterwards.

Haniya left Gaza on Sunday and visited Cairo before flying to Sudan on Tuesday.

Sources in his office said the main purpose of the trip was to seek "help and aid" for the reconstruction of Gaza, which was devastated by a vast 22-day ‘Israeli’ operation which began exactly three years ago.

He was also likely to address the issue of Palestinian reconciliation during the tour which would also include stops in Qatar, Turkey, Tunisia and Bahrain, they said.

Hamas has close ties with Khartoum and has long maintained a base in Sudan, where the group's chief Khaled Meshaal is a frequent visitor.