EXCLUSIVE: Hamas makes its case

Just days after Gaza fell to Hamas, the Islamists’ senior most official in Beirut Osama Hamdan met with a prominent western lawmaker to lay out Hamas’ side of the story. In a candid, wide ranging conversation, Hamdan offers a fascinating and compelling narrative of the course of events that led up to the Gaza takeover. There is plenty to take issue with and question in Hamdan’s account, but all in all I think he makes a very credible case.

In a conflictblotter exclusive, here is the full transcript of those talks.