August 12th

Fatah provides role for youth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News (Editorial) August 12, 2009 - 12:00am After a long week of internal controversies, the Fatah Congress came to a conclusion in Bethlehem with the election results for the powerful central committee showing a few signs of progress. The highlight of the meeting was that younger Fatah leaders gained powerful posts, including the influential jailed leader Marwan Barghouti. Mohammad Dahlan, a controversial figure in the Gaza Strip also won - no surprises there. Ahmad Qurei, the first Palestinian prime minister, was among the veterans who lost their seats, signalling that many within Fatah are invested in taking a new direction. » Read more

Will Fatah Regain the Initiative? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Abdullah Iskandar - (Opinion) August 12, 2009 - 12:00am After the Fatah Movement concluded its conference and elected its leadership committees, it is now expected to regain the initiative at all levels. Over the past years, especially after President Yasser Arafat passed away, the conflicts and personal positions amongst the historic leaders played an obstructing role in making decisions and protecting them. Each of these leaders was a pole in himself, and they all often pulled in every direction. This was mainly reflected on the movement, the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the relations with other factions. » Read more

Does Obama have a plan for peace—or a plan for a plan? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - August 10, 2009 - 12:00am Are the parties in the Middle East ready for a U.S. peace plan? Or just for a plan for a peace plan? Talk of a near-term U.S. peace plan was spurred last week when a State Department official said one would be in place "within weeks" -- a projection confirmed within a day by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. "I think it will be in a matter of weeks," the spokesman, P.J. Crowley, said in an Aug. 3 briefing when he was asked when George Mitchell, President Obama's envoy to the Middle East, would present a plan. » Read more

Fatah's old guard ousted by election of intifada chief ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Ben Lynfield - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am The once-dominant Fatah movement took a first step towards reversing its decline among Palestinians yesterday by electing new leaders – including a firebrand jailed for life by Israel. Marwan Barghouthi, the leader of the second intifada uprising who is serving five life sentences for attacks on Israeli targets, was one of a raft of new faces on Fatah's central committee. He is seen as a potential successor to Fatah's leader, Mahmoud Abbas, if he is freed by Israel in a future deal. "This is a great result, a great mix," said Ziyad Abu Ayn, a close associate of Mr Barghouthi. » Read more

Fatah: A new beginning? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Roger Hardy - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am The party founded by the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat four decades ago is struggling to revive its fortunes. But has its latest congress really made it a more united and credible force? It was the first Fatah congress on Palestinian soil - and that in itself ensured that organising it would be a tall order. The event brought together more than 2,000 delegates, not just from the West Bank but from the Palestinian diaspora. Fatah needed Israel's permission for activists to come from Lebanon and Syria. » Read more

A brand new Fatah? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ziad Abu Zayyad - (Opinion) August 12, 2009 - 12:00am Convening Fatah's Sixth General Conference in Bethlehem represents a new chapter not only in the history of the movement but also in its future deliberations. Fatah was established as an underground resistance movement in exile inspired by the radical liberation movements of the 1950s and '60s in Vietnam, Latin America and elsewhere. The declared goal was to liberate all Mandatory Palestine from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. » Read more

Israel: We 'won't make Jordan Palestine' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am A delegation of security officials secretly traveled to Jordan last week in an attempt to assuage concerns that Israel plans to transfer Palestinians from the West Bank to the Hashemite Kingdom, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The purpose of the visit was to ensure that strategic ties between the countries are not harmed. The delegation was led by several officials from the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau, who met with senior officials close to King Abdullah II. » Read more

Jerusalem, US debate status of Ariel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon, Tovah Lazaroff - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am Jerusalem and Washington are currently discussing whether Ariel constitutes one of the settlement blocs where - under a compromise agreement being worked out - construction that has already begun can continue, diplomatic sources told The Jerusalem Post Tuesday. According to the sources, the two sides are continuing to discuss a compromise solution on settlement construction whereby most of the 2,500 housing units currently under construction in the West Bank would continue to be built, but Israel would declare a temporary moratorium on any new projects. » Read more

Hope from Bethlehem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yariv Oppenheimer - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am What great disappointment and what a blow to peace-lovers: The Fatah Congress that convened in Bethlehem did not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, did not adopt Hebrew as an official language, and did not end with the singing of Israel’s national anthem. The Palestinians have remained the same; a beaten and persecuted people seeking independence alongside Israel, but without recognizing or endorsing the Zionist idea and the principals of the Jewish State. » Read more

Fatah Women Fume Over Election Results ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am "We formed a coalition with the men, but they betrayed us; they were voted in due to our support, but they failed to reciprocate," Intissar al-Wasir said Tuesday after all the female candidates failed to gain a seat on Fatah's 21-member Central Committee at the movement's landmark conference in Bethlehem. The Women's Committee demanded that at least 30% of those elected to Fatah's governing bodies be women, but the demand was rejected. Al-Wasir is the widow of Fatah founder Abu Jihad and the only female member of the outgoing Central Committee. » Read more