Israel and Hamas quietly do business

There is little trust between the two sides in Qalqilya

As the Palestinian militant group Hamas assumes control of the Palestinian Authority, BBC Middle East correspondent James Reynolds visits the West Bank town of Qalqilya, where Hamas officials and Israeli civil servants are already working together.

The Palestinian town of Qalqilya sits right next to Israel. It is cut off from the Jewish state by a wall and a series of fences and checkpoints.

People from Qalqilya are not allowed into Israel, and Israelis are not allowed into Qalqilya.

But separation is not as easy as that. The town is connected to Israel's infrastructure - in particular, its electricity is supplied by Israel.

That is important, because Qalqilya is run by Hamas.

Daily dilemma

We followed the town's acting mayor Hashem Masri up the stairs into the town hall.

He is standing in for the real mayor, who is serving time in an Israeli jail.

Every day Mr Masri faces a dilemma: his party Hamas does not recognise the state of Israel, but his town Qalqilya needs services from Israel in order to survive.

So he has to deal with the Jewish state. And it seems that the Jewish state has to deal with him.

Mr Masri says that he has twice met an employee of the Israeli state electricity company in order to sort out the town's electricity bill.

"I meet him in a car, here beside Qalqilya. He is responsible for Arabic services, we met for one-and-a-half hours," he explained.

Asked if it was a friendly meeting, he says: "Why not? It was civil, without any problem between him and I. The big problem is with the occupation here."

So, two men in a car - one an elected representative from Hamas and the other an Israeli civil servant.

Basic understanding

A direct meeting like this is unusual. But, in general, indirect contact between Hamas mayors and Israel is not particularly uncommon.

Israel says it will not deal with a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.

It has threatened to make life difficult - perhaps unworkable - for a Hamas government.

But, Israel has not shut down the Hamas-run municipality in Qalqilya. Quietly, it has let the acting mayor get on with his job.

The town still gets its electricity. The fact that you can switch on a light bulb in Qalqilya shows that at the most basic level there is some degree of understanding between the two enemies.