Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced the following upcoming Committee events: 

Tuesday, February 5

Subcommittee Hearing:  The Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation: Threatening Peace Prospects

10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 5 in 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman

Invited witnesses include:

Matthew Levitt, Ph.D.
Director
Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Michael Rubin, Ph.D.
Resident Scholar
American Enterprise Institute

Mr. David Makovsky
Director
Project on the Middle East Peace Process
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
                                               

Chairman Ros-Lehtinen on the hearing:  “The growing ties between Fatah and Hamas, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization, should give the United States cause for concern. It puts our closest friend and ally, the democratic Jewish State of Israel, in an even more precarious situation. How can Israel trust that Abu Mazen is a true partner for peace when he is attempting to unify his government with a terrorist group that continually calls for Israel’s destruction? This hearing is an important look at the future of the peace process and what implications it has on United States foreign policy.”

 

Tuesday, February 5

Joint Subcommittee Hearing:  Fighting for Internet Freedom: Dubai and Beyond

10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 5 in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade

Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), Chairman

Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman

To be convened jointly with the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), Chairman

 

Invited witnesses include: 

The Honorable Robert M. McDowell
Commissioner
Federal Communications Commission

The Honorable David A. Gross
(Former Coordinator of International Communications and Information Policy, U.S. Department of State)

Ms. Sally Shipman Wentworth
Senior Manger of Public Policy
Internet Society

Mr. Harold Feld
Senior Vice President
Public Knowledge

Chairman Poe on the hearing:  “The United States must be clear in its opposition to the UN internet police. This agreement permits a group of authoritarian rulers to use the cover of the United Nations to legitimize spying on and censoring its citizens. This is an affront to all who believe in freedom. Central planners from foreign governments must be exposed for what they are- rogue dictators- not given another excuse to tighten their oppression.”

Chairman Smith on the hearing:  “The debate on Internet governance isn’t a matter only of domain names and copyright but also at stake is Internet freedom in repressive countries. Many of the same countries that want to increase government control of the internet are the same countries where internet freedom suffers the most. This hearing will be an important discussion on how we can integrate serious privacy and access concerns into the discussion on internet governance.”