Mr. Hamdallah is a member of the Fatah Party led by Mr. Abbas.
Egypt is frustrated by Hamas's refusal to let Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and his Fatah party resume control over Gaza.
Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority and a member of Hamas' rival Fatah party, dissolved Gaza's Hamas-led government and declared a state of emergency in 2007.
Most worrying for Mr Abbas was the fact that the ringleaders of the recent trouble hailed from his own Fatah party, which provides the bedrock of the PA's security forces.
Officials in Egypt long maintained that they shut their Rafah crossing with Gaza (where, incidentally Sgt Shalit was freed this morning) on the request of the PLO, which blamed Hamas for killing large numbers of supporters from President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party during their takeover.
Mr Arafat's response was to send militiamen linked to Fatah (the party to which both he and Mr Abbas belong) to prevent the new man taking up the appointment.
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Fatah, the incumbent party that Hamas defeated in elections this year, and the only one that could replace it in government, was just as incapable of keeping them in check.
Even Hamas, the Islamist party that will challenge the ruling Fatah for legislative and municipal seats this year, is more media-savvy, grumbles the Palestinian official.
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These forces, who receive no money from Iran and Saudi Arabia to buy votes, and have no private militias to intimidate voters, couldn't compete against the likes of the Dawa party in Iraq, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or Fatah and Hamas in the Palestinian Authority.
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