In the middle of the large sandy acres stretching in southwest Gaza Strip, only a few green spots nestled there and a sign on the road tells that you are not far from Asdaa media production city.

Though the city is run by Hamas' al-Aqsa satellite channel, it goes beyond media to include farm animals and agricultural production in a bid to offer an integrated system.

"We have established a number of projects on Asdaa land to serve the basic life goal and the media goal," said Hammad al-Reqeb, a Hamas spokesman who acts as the general director of the city which covers about 300 acres of land.

The area, overlooking the Mediterranean beach, used to be Israeli settlements and have been unused since the Jewish state evacuated its troops and settlers from the coastal Strip four years ago.

At the time, international donors and investors planned to invest billions of dollars into this thirsty soil where Israel has just ended 38 years of occupation.

The location of the 30-km long strip of land staring from central Gaza Strip and ending south to the Egyptian border near Rafah was a big tempt for the investors because it was in a convenient geographical location.

But in January 2006, Islamic Hamas movement scored a landslide victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections, rising fear of political unrest.

Less than half a year after being in power, Hamas has kidnapped an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid and jailed him, drawing Israeli restrictions that fueled investors' fears. Now, the blockade, which Israel says aims at isolating Hamas, has entered its third year.

People in charge of Asdaa say their enterprise aims at "reaching a phase of self-sufficiency" to challenge the Israeli near-total closure.

The first produce of Asdaa came this summer, with large quantities of watermelons flowing into the markets in Gaza, especially when Israel has banned melons from entering Gaza.

Another 24 acres have been planted with red American apples to meet the demand of the market which usually imports the fruit from Israel.

In July, the media city has produced its first cinema movie, featuring the death and life of the founder of Hamas' armed wing in early 1990s. The movie costs 200,000 U.S. dollars.

The city is sponsored by Hamas government, the people in charge of the enterprise are paid by Hamas' interior, agriculture and local government ministers.

The government has sent unemployed people to work here under a program called Takafol (symbiosis), which provides temporary job opportunities.

The city is also open to both individuals and merchants who want to live and raise sheep, fish and grow vegetables and fruits here.

Economists and observers say the project is mainly dedicated to serve Hamas, neglecting the fact that the areas of the former Israeli settlement should have been kept for the use of the public.

"Hamas and its government has succeeded in cultivating the land and building a media production city, but there is no comprehensive national plan for these activities," said Omar Shabaan, director of Palthink, a Gaza-based economic think tank.

Because the 30-km strip of land is fertile and convenient with fresh water and excellent road network, the area of the former settlements "could become a basic factor for a real development," says Shabaan.

(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2009)