One of the documents appears to show that Washington tried to persuade Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of Fatah, to remove Hamas from power. One document, dated March 2007, states “the plan will enable the Palestinian leadership to be more credible in the eyes of Israel and the others”.

But, when that plan failed, the US set up an operation to fund Fatah fighters and drive Hamas out. In Cairo, Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, justified the arming of Fatah, saying the situation had called for it….

Hamas won democratic elections in January 2006, prompting Western governments, which have refused to engage with Hamas, to threaten to withdraw financial aid to the Palestinians.

Left with little international support, by June that year Hamas and Fatah had agreed to form a unity government but were unable to broker a conclusive end to factional fighting on the streets of Gaza.

Allegations the US sought to remove Hamas in a coup dates back to 2006, after the group had come to power through Palestinian elections.

The leaked documents include a memo sent to Fatah officials, apparently by a senior US diplomat in Jerusalem in November 2006, encouraging Fatah to declare a state of emergency and take control.