A senior aide to Mahmoud Abbas made an emergency trip to the Gaza Strip on Saturday to try to bridge the rancorous rift between the moderate Palestinian leader and the Hamas militants controlling parliament and the Cabinet. The rupture threatens to jeopardize Abbas’ efforts to keep the West from shunning the Palestinians over Hamas’ violently anti- Israel ideology. Abbas, elected separately last year, would like to strike a negotiated peace deal with Israel, but Hamas refuses to disarm or recognize Israel’s right to exist. Full Story