GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Many, even Hamas’ political rivals, have described Ahmed Yousef as the most flexible, moderate and open of his peers.

Yousef, a former political adviser to Hamas' deputy political bureau chief in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1968. He is highly knowledgeable in political matters and an important figure in the history of the Palestinian cause and Islamist movements. He has published more than 28 books in Arabic and English, dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict and the affairs of the Islamist movement in Palestine and the Arab and Muslim worlds. Notable titles include “Contemporary Islamic Thought Transformations” (1983), “The Islamic Movement within the Green Line: Current Challenges and Future Horizons” (1987) and “Future of Political Islam: American Points of View” (2001).

He also established the House of Wisdom in Gaza for consultancy and conflict resolution, and he headed its board. In the mid 1990s, he called for the establishment of a bi-national state on Palestinian soil. He rejects violence as a means to solve conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians.

Al-Monitor interviewed Yousef in his office at the House of Wisdom in Gaza City. The text of the interview follows: