AxisMundi Jerusalem

Aziz Dweik was the speaker of the Hamas-led Palestinian parliament until his arrest and imprisonment by Israel 3 years ago. He was one of dozens of Hamas lawmakers rounded up across the occupied West Bank in the summer of 2006 after gunmen from Hamas and other militants from Gaza abducted an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, in a cross-border raid. 

Dweik was released earlier this week after serving nearly the full term of his prison sentence.

Our journalists interviewed Dweik, 60, earlier this week in his hometown of Hebron. Here’s the interview as it appeared on our news wire. And below, a video of excerpts from the interview in English where Dweik holds out hope for a deal that would see Shalit released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and for a unity deal to overcome the deep schism in Palestinian politics between Hamas and the Fatah faction led by President Mahmoud Abbas.