By Adel Zaanoun

GAZA CITY, Nov 27, 2010 (AFP) - Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip three years ago but is now worried that the Islamist movement has been losing the hearts and minds of the Palestinian territory's 1.5 million residents.

Seeking to regain the popularity lost through political repression and the often heavy hand of its police, Hamas has embarked on a door-to-door public relations campaign called "Communication and Affection."

The charm offensive, due to wrap up at year end, is the second time Hamas has gone courting public opinion since it ousted forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's secular Fatah party in deadly street fighting in 2007.

By mobilising party officials and even government members to visit homes and sit down with people, Hamas aims to "restore its popularity and clarify some of its policies," spokesman Taher al-Nunu told AFP.

"We have taken notice of the excesses of the security services and police, and of rumours about that within Palestinian public opinion," said Nunu, whose party scored a surprise victory in Palestinian elections in 2006.

"That is why this campaign was necessary to strengthen relations with citizens and to remind them of services provided."

Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a political science professor at Gaza's Al-Azhar University, said Hamas "realised the police have lost much of their prestige and that the actions of its security apparatus were leading to signs of disobedience and public anger."

While there has never been any trouble during the visits, Hamas canvassers have occasionally been received nervously or with open hostility.

In some cases, people have refused to open their door, forcing the volunteers to retreat, carrying with them their offerings of chocolate stamped with "Campaign of Communication and Affection -- a gift from Hamas."

One volunteer, Abu Hudaifa, said he and the others have been trained to "reply with smiles for their brothers during the visits, accepting all criticism and promoting a spirit of fraternity and cooperation."

One Gaza resident, a 29-year-old who would give only his first name, Adnan, recounted what he told his visitors.

"When I received them, I told them 'if you want reconciliation among people, you can't be two-faced -- a kind government and at the same time a repressive government.

"Obviously, they didn't appreciate the criticism," said the former Palestinian Authority (PA) policeman, who was arrested and held for two weeks during an operation against Fatah sympathisers last year.

In the southern town of Khan Yunis, 40-year-old Salwa would also give only his first name.

Salwa, whose son was killed in the 2007 fighting, said he refused to open his door because it was "impossible to accept sweets dipped in the blood of our children."

According to an opinion poll released in October, Gazans are less happy with Hamas than with Fatah, which runs the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Hamas had a 30-percent positive rating, compared with 31 percent who responded negatively. For the PA, the respective figures were 43 and 26 percent.

The poll showed Fatah would strongly defeat Hamas, particularly in Gaza, if an election was held at the time.

The bitter divisions between Fatah and Hamas go back to the launch of limited Palestinian self-rule in the 1990s, when Fatah strongmen cracked down on the Islamist group.

All reconciliation efforts since the 2007 takeover have failed, with Fatah and Hamas accusing each other of undermining trust by persecuting political rivals in the territory under its control.

But paediatrician Jamal Abdullah, 31, backed the Hamas initiative.

"We need to listen to each other to resolve our differences. All the problems between Hamas and Fatah stem from that," he said.

But for Professor Abu Saada, whatever the achievements of the campaign, they would be purely "cosmetic" if there were no advances towards reconciliation between the two groups.

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Copyright AFP 2010.