In this interview published in the Charlotte Observer, college professors Paul Kengor and Michael Coulter ask Radwan Masmoudi, founder of the Washington-based Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, tough questions about democracy, shari"˜a and the Muslim world. Do Muslims want democracy? Is it possible in Iran? In Iraq? What elements of Islam could be considered "liberal"?

Adam Keller interviews Israeli refuser Uri Nathan

At a Bible class in my elementary school, we learned about some war that the ancient Hebrews waged against some of their enemies, the Amalekites I think.

What I remember was that after winning they slaughtered all their captives, which was okay as far as God was concerned, but an officer who looted some property was punished very severely. The teacher asked us who had acted wrong in this affair and I said it was the prophet who urged the Hebrews to start this war. It was not the answer she expected.

an interview with Sameer Abu Aisheh

The international community should cooperate with the elected Palestinian government and support the democracy it always talks about.

Bitter Lemons interviews Hanan Ashrawi on the upcoming Palestinian elections and the importance of unhindered access to the elections process in East Jerusalem.

bitterlemons: Will the Gaza settlements eventually become assets to Palestinians?

Abdul Shafi: Absolutely. We are talking about a substantial size of land, some 35-40 percent of the total area of the Gaza Strip. The land is fertile for agriculture, and can be used for tourism and residential areas. The settlements in the center of the Strip, which stretch down to the south, lie along the main potential tourism beaches of Gaza. In addition, those settlements as well as the ones in the north are located above the only two underground fresh water reservoirs in the Strip. In terms of availability of water for agricultural production we are talking about the best locations.

bitterlemons: There are already some agricultural projects in these settlements. Do you think they should be maintained as they are or do Palestinians need to adapt them for their own purposes?

Abdul Shafi: The estimate is that there are around 2,000 greenhouses producing high quality export crops like flowers and cherry tomatoes. So definitely these can be transferred to the Palestinian side without much ado about what to do with them. Since more than 95 percent of the land is governmental land, there are several scenarios being circulated about what best to do with it. I think the best thing to do is to form cooperatives, so these lands can be transferred to them and maintained without interruption to production.

an interview with Hanan Ashrawi

bitterlemons: There was a lot of talk about a new era and an end of violence at the Sharm al Sheikh summit. What did you make of the summit?

Ashrawi: On the one hand we don't want to overload it with significance and unrealistic expectations. On the other, we mustn't underestimate or undervalue the significance of having a period in which there is no violence and in which there is a commitment by the Israeli occupation and the Palestinians not to resort to violence. A period of quiet is sine qua non for changing the dynamic on the ground and for generating a whole new modus operandi, which we hope will be a substantive peace process.

bitterlemons: But in order to ensure a period of quiet, certain things would need to happen on the ground immediately, wouldn't you agree?

Ashrawi: Yes, absolutely. Quiet doesn't come out of the blue, particularly when you have a military occupation. What you need is for Israel to refrain from conducting any kind of violence or aggression or escalation, including things like assassinations, the incursions, but also lifting the siege, and making moves like the release of prisoners and cessation of building of the wall and settlement activities.

by Zaki Abu Halaweh

Jerusalem - Ron Pundak, Director General of the Peres Center for Peace, and one of the architects of the Oslo Agreement, stated, "We are now at the threshold of a new era that carries within it all hope for achieving peace and stability, for us and for the Middle East region as a whole."

In a special interview with the Jerusalem-based Al Quds newspaper, Mr. Pundak added that the changes that the Palestinian Authority underwent, and the elections that resulted in a victory for Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), clearly indicate that the Palestinian street is heading for change and rebuilding, and that it understands the Israeli side's point of view. The Palestinian public's wish to restore Palestinian-Israeli relations through the coordination of activities, which is bound to have a positive result within both societies, will eventually contribute to finding a solution to this complicated problem. "We now live in an environment that is substantially different from the past, to the extent that even extremist forces among the parties of the conflict have started to comprehend that persisting on the path of violence will not achieve anything, but will rather engage the two peoples of these countries in destruction, war, and strife. Change is the master of the situation now, and towards the better, because the situation on the ground is changing. Checkpoints are currently being moved from their present locations, and the Palestinian Authority is given more power and control to undertake its role in maintaining peace and putting an end to violence. All these changes represent reasons for us to be optimistic that the change will be for the better."