DOHA DEBATES SPECIAL EVENT                         WITH SENIOR HAMAS OFFICIAL                             DR MAHMOUD AL ZAHAR                                      May 27th, 2008

Dr. Mahmoud Al Zahar, a senior leader of Hamas, has come under critical fire at the latest Doha Debates Special event for failing to end the feud with rival Palestinian group Fatah, which has cost hundreds of lives.

Several members of the audience - including Palestinian students - told Dr. Al Zahar that violence against civilians was un-Islamic and that "an eye for an eye" was no way to achieve peace.

Such a frank, public exchange with a senior Hamas leader is a highly unusual event in the Middle East.

Dr. Al Zahar, a surgeon and foreign minister in the short-lived Hamas government, replied that nobody in Hamas was happy at what was happening. He said that the group had offered "an open hand" to Fatah to sit down and negotiate a peace deal.

But he warned that no peace agreement with Fatah or Israel was likely until George Bush leaves the White House.

"I think under the present US Administration peace will not be achieved," he said. "They are not looking for peace."

Dr. Al Zahar added that Hamas is hoping that the new US Administration would be neutral and balanced.

The Doha Debates Special with Dr. Mahmoud Al Zahar was broadcast on BBC World News on June 7th and 8th.