From the article:
"I came out of all my discussions yesterday in Jerusalem and in Ramallah with the hope that all parties are mindful that here we are sitting on a powder keg here and that we must ensure that the fuse does not catch light," Steinmeier said at a press conference in Gaza City's fishing port.

"We shall only be able to decisively reduce the risks of a fresh escalation if we allow economic development in the Gaza Strip in addition to humanitarian aid and reconstruction," he said.

My take:
Steinmeier assumes here that the Israeli government actually wants a peaceful solution. Violence in Gaza serves the Israeli government because the violence, even if provoked by Israeli actions, can be used to demonstrate that the Palestinians do not want a peaceful solution.

Let's not forget violence serves Hamas' goals as well.

No comparison as far as numbers, weaponry used, and scale. Plus Israel is occupying Palestinian land, and making use of the land. NOT the other way around.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshal met with a senior Iranian official in the Qatari capital Thursday, reflecting the group’s efforts to return to Iran’s orbit, Palestinian sources close to Hamas said.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.646624

What do you feel is the reason for this? Is Hamas looking for an ally against the US/Israel alliance?

They had a little falling out recently but they appear to be patching things up.

Regardless of how much you wish to minimize it. As for weapons, let's imagine what Hamas would be firing at Israel if not for the arms blockade. How many shipments of Iranian long range rockets have been interdicted enroute to Gaza(which is not occupied btw).

From Germany, With Hypocrisy: Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visits the Gaza Strip

On Monday, Germany’s foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited the Gaza Strip and “expressed harsh criticism”, as German media outlets put it, after witnessing the destruction of Israel’s last attack in summer 2014. “Life in Gaza is unbearable”, Steinmeier said, adding that the status quo is unsustainable. After hearing such news, one might think that this politician is a bold truth teller and critic of the occupation, a remarkable role for a German Secretary of State. But a closer look shows that Steinmeier has behaved with just as much hypocrisy as many other European politicians who support Israel without reservation. In fact, he may be an even greater enabler of apartheid than any of his peers.

The German foreign minister entered Gaza with the permission the Israeli government. His trip to Gaza was planned during his Israel visit, whose main purpose was to meet the new right-wing government. That Netanyahu’s coalition is the most extreme and openly pro-settler government in Israel’s history was completely ignored by Steinmeier. Netanyahu decided who Steinmeier was allowed to meet inside Gaza and whom he wasn’t. That meant zero meetings with anyone affiliated with the government of Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. This practice is nothing new. Since Operation Protective Edge, in which more than 2.000 Palestinians have been killed, Western statesmen from Norway, Ireland and Spain, have visited the Gaza Strip on the Israeli condition that they would meet no one from Hamas. None protested the onerous, decidedly anti-diplomatic conditions imposed on them by Gaza’s occupier.

According to Steinmeier, Hamas is the main party to blame for the whole disaster consuming Gaza. For that reason, he demanded heightened security for Israel while demanding that Hamas stop firing rockets. Steinmeier conveyed the impression that both actors, Israel and occupied Gaza, are of equal strength and as responsible for the situation, while ignoring the hundreds of Israeli ceasefire violations over the past 9 months. As the massacre in Gaza unfolded, Steinmeier was one of those who publicly worried about people at Tel Aviv beach. During a meeting of foreign ministers at the end of July 2014, Steinmeier issued support for the Israeli aggression and pined about the empty beaches in Israel. In response, Turkey’s Ahmet Davutoglu became outraged and pointed out that in Gaza, the beaches were not empty but the streets were full of dead children.

It is relevant to note that many people were killed in Gaza by German weapons gifted to Israel at a deep discount as part of the overall package of German reparations for the Holocaust.

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/06/hypocrisy-minister-steinmeier#sthash.IhaNf546.dpuf