Is the Bush administration making quiet overtures towards Hamas? What are the prospects for reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, and what are Hamas' views on peace with Israel? Does the Islamist movement support the one-state solution and where does it look to for political role models? Dr. Ahmed Yousef, senior advisor to Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, the leader of the Hamas government in Gaza, recently spoke to The Electronic Intifada's Gaza Strip correspondent Rami Almeghari about these and other issues.

In June 2007 Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip, ousting American-trained militias loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Since then, the territory, just twice the size of Washington, DC, has been under a punishing Israeli blockade forcing the vast majority of its 1.5 million residents to depend on UN food handouts. Hamas, elected to govern the West Bank and Gaza Strip with a landslide majority in January 2006, has been boycotted by Western powers and declared a "terrorist organization" by the United States. While Haniya's government is confined to the Gaza Strip, the US recognizes only the unelected Ramallah-based government appointed by Abbas in the West Bank. Since June, Hamas and Israel have observed an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that ended months of violence in which hundreds of Palestinian civilians and several Israelis were killed.

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In an interview with The Electronic Intifada, Jeff Halper, the Israeli-American director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, discussed the ongoing Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and the Free Gaza Movement (FGM). Halper was one of 46 members to take part in FGM's action to challenge Israel 14-month siege on Gaza.
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On Saturday the 9th of August we headed out to upper Nablus where we'd arranged an interview with the ex-mayor of the city, Bassam Shaka. read full story / add a comment

In Jenin, Palestinian Women addresses the concerns of women as they face problems of raising a family and preparing for jobs when the home no longer has a man to support them. read full story / add a comment

On August 5th, activists will be taking to the high seas in an effort to get much needed medical supplies to the ailing residents of the besieged Gaza strip. read full story / add a comment

Yesterday, I visited with Sameeh Hammoudeh and his family. He was a co-defendant in the terrorism trial of Dr. Sami Al-Arian. It was a very important visit and before I describe it, you’ll need this background. read full story / add a comment

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A number of Israeli, Palestinian and foreign officials stated many times during the year 2008, that a peace deal between the Palestinians and the Israelis is so close and might be by the end of 2008. read full story / add a comment

In a special interview with IMEMC, a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs brigades in Gaza, Abu Almontaser, said that his resistance group preserves the right to respond to Israeli army attacks either on Gaza or on the West Bank.

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With Senator Hillary Clinton resigning from the US Presidential race, the Democratic nomination will almost certainly go to Senator Barack Obama. Obama gave a speech this week that raised a great deal of criticism among human rights advocates. read full story / add a comment

The Palestine Investment Conference (PIC), taking place in Bethlehem from May 21-23, has enthusiastically declared "Palestine is open for business". The conference, which draws together around 1200 Palestinian, Israeli, and international private investors and government delegations, is aimed at jumpstarting the process of integrating Palestine into the global economy.

While $2 billion USD worth of projects are being planned and inked at the PIC, almost entirely absent from the agenda is any mention that the Palestinian territories have been under the longest illegal military occupation in recent history.

While some are optimistic at the economic opportunities that such a conference could bring to the impoverished West Bank and Gaza Strip, others are critical of the conference, charging that it is being used as a tool to normalize Israeli apartheid policies in the region.

Dawood Hamoudeh is an organizer with the Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (www.stopthewall.org), based in Ramallah. Hamoudeh recently authored a report entitled "Development or Normalization? A critique of West Bank development approaches and projects".

The IMEMC's Aaron Lakoff spoke with Hamoudeh over the phone about his views on the PIC in Bethlehem, and current obstacles to Palestinian economic life, particularly with regards to tourism and agriculture.

---To download a copy of Dawood Hamoudeh's report, visit:
http://www.stopthewall.org/downloads/PRDPcritique.pdf

---To view the Stop the Wall statement about the Palestine Investment Conference:
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/1654.shtml
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Dr Mohammed Salameh of Jordan and chairman of the consolidated group for engineering and investment says that Palestine is ready for investment only if Israel will agree to peace, and stop its' killing and curfews, without Israel's support we are wasting our time here. read full story / add a comment

This is an interview with Dr. Aziz Dweik, head of the Palestinian Legislative Council, imprisoned by Israel along with dozens of legislators and officials.This interview was published in Arabic by the office of Legislator Sameer Halaiqa on May 7, 2008, and was translated by Saed Bannoura of the International Middle East Media Center www.imemc.org. read full story / add a comment