Intel provided funding for the project being built by a charity and a local university An Intel technology center planned for the Gaza Strip that has surfaced in news reports recently was actually announced in early November, pre-dating the Palestinian election victory of a group officially labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S., E.U. and other countries.Hamas, a radical Islamic group, won a majority in the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council in January, drawing immediate protest from several nations.The group, which derives its name from an Arabic phrase that literally means “Islamic Resistance Movement”, according to Wikipedia, holds the stated objective of establishing an independent Palestinian state based on Islamic principles on the area that now makes up Israel, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The revival of the old announcement surprised Intel, according to Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for the company. In fact, the center itself isn’t even being built by the world’s largest chip maker: a charity organization is working in conjunction with a local university to establish the center.Intel provided funding the project, around $1 million, Mulloy said, so the groups in charge of the program decided to name it the Intel Information Technology Center of Excellence.The American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), a 37-year old charity organization, is working with the Islamic University of Gaza in the Gaza Strip to build the center on its campus. The center, the first of its kind in Gaza, is aimed at providing critical IT support for local businesses and organizations, expanding educational and employment opportunities and helping stimulate the IT market in Gaza, according to a joint release by ANERA and Intel, dated Nov. 10 of last year. Construction on the center is slated to begin in February of this year.It’s just one of a handful of technology centers ANERA has worked to establish. The first IT Center of Excellence opened at Al Quds University in Jerusalem in March, 2004, while two more centers will open this fall, one in Jenin and another in Hebron.The money for the center came from Intel’s Digital Transformation Initiative for the Middle East program, Mulloy said, which includes a scholarship program, internship programs and more. Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of the chip maker, also in November announced a $50 million fund aimed at the Middle East. Technology Industry