By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, July 7 -- The issue of Hamas has been raised in UN negotiations of a “ministerial” text to accompany the High Level segment of the Economic and Social Council, Inner City Press has learned.

There is a previously agreed Paragraph 24 about removing obstacles to development for people living occupation, in the UN phrase. It was agreed to last year.

This year the US, Israel and Canada have proposed a new Paragraph 25 essentially about Hamas, a source exclusively informed Inner City Press, saying if “people living under occupation” is in, the anti-Hamas language should be included too. Only at the UN.

As Inner City Press reported last week, the US, Israel and Canada stood alone, joined in one of two votes by Palau, in casting negative ballots on language calling on Israel to pay the UN back for damage in Qana in 1996.

Also July 7 in negotiations of a General Assembly resolution about the International Criminal Court, sources exclusively tell Inner City Press, there were major arguments about Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's implementation of language urging that “non-essential” contacts with ICC indictees be avoided.

As Inner City Press reported, last July the head of UN Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous met with ICC-indictee Omar al Bashir of Sudan, without even explaining why, or informing the ICC or its Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. We'll have more on this.