August 18th

Former Palestinian power broker fighting for political survival ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - August 18, 2011 - 12:00am Some view him as a ruthless opportunist, others a convenient scapegoat for his superiors. But one thing is certain: Mohammed Dahlan, once considered the charismatic odds-on-favourite to succeed Yasser Arafat as leader of the Palestinians, is fighting for his political life. » Read more

One man's stand against an Israeli settlement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Matthew Kalman - August 18, 2011 - 12:00am Said Ayid was born under the British Mandate, grew up in Jordan, raised his eight children under Israeli occupation and now lives on the edge of a sprawling new Israeli neighbourhood under the token protection of the Palestinian Authority. But throughout those 73 years he has not moved an inch. Two weeks ago, the Israeli government announced the addition of 930 new units in Har Homa, the new neighbourhood built in the past decade on the adjacent hillside south of Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the Six Day War of 1967. » Read more

Palestinian Factions Reconsider Relations with Assad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by David Miller - August 17, 2011 - 12:00am A fierce attack by the Syrians on a Palestinian refugee camp has led Palestinian factions, both Islamist and staunchly secular, to reexamine their traditionally close ties with Damascus. Headquartered in the Syrian capital as the Bashar Al-Assad regime falters, Palestinians were cautious not to badmouth the Syrian president personally as they condemned Sunday’s naval bombardment of the Raml Palestinian refugee camp. » Read more

Assad puts Hamas in corner over Syrian assault ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews August 17, 2011 - 12:00am Syria's crackdown on government opponents has deeply embarrassed the Palestinian group Hamas, which is anxious not to anger its backers in Damascus while at the same time hoping not to alienate its supporters at home. President Bashar Assad's five-month purge of protesters has gathered pace since the start of August, causing thousands of Palestinians to flee a refugee camp in the city of Latakia this week as Syrian security forces attacked the area. » Read more

PA to soften UN statehood bid? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - August 17, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority has spent the past few days trying to advance a move to soften its bid for recognition at the UN in order to gain wider support among European nations, Ynet has learned. Europe's major powers have yet to decide whether to support the Palestinians' membership bid, to which the US is opposed. Palestinian sources close to negotiations with Europe told Ynet that the PA is conducting secret talks with the European Union and the Arab League aimed at revising their proposed resolution ahead of the General Assembly meeting in September. » Read more

Cairo talks between Israel, Hamas deadlock ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Elior Levy - August 18, 2011 - 12:00am A senior Egyptian source said Thursday that the third round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, meant to facilitate a prisoner exchange deal which would secure the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, have deadlocked. The source, quoted by the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat, said both sides were "digging in their heels," and that as of Thursday, no date has been set to renew the talks. "Each party is interested in getting the best deal they can. We are still far from the point of saying that the talks have matured into a deal," the source said. » Read more

Turkey plans diplomatic assault on Israel after its refusal to apologize for Gaza flotilla raid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - August 18, 2011 - 12:00am Turkey plans to launch a diplomatic and legal assault on Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused on Wednesday to issue an apology to Turkey for the raid on the Gaza aid flotilla last year in which nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed. Sources in the Foreign Ministry said Turkey now intends to implement "Plan B", which will include an anti-Israel campaign in UN institutions, with an emphasis on the International Court of Justice. Turkey also plans to encourage the families of the raid's victims to file suits against senior Israeli figures in European courts. » Read more

Hamas official: Party not moving headquarters to Cairo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 17, 2011 - 12:00am A senior Hamas leader said Wednesday that the party has no intention of moving its headquarters in exile from Damascus to Cairo. Salah Bardaweil rubbished reports that the recent visit to Egypt by exiled Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal was to discuss moving the party's offices to Cairo. “Hamas has not discussed moving its office from Syria, neither was this the goal of Mashaal’s visit to Cairo,” Bardaweil told Ma'an. The Cairo trip was not a surprise visit, he added, and had been previously scheduled. » Read more

Rights group: Hamas ban on study abroad students 'illegal' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 18, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian Center for Human Rights denounced Wednesday the decision by Hamas to ban Gaza scholarship students from studying in the United States. "PCHR believes that this decision contradicts basic human rights standards, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," a statement said. The rights group said that the students were banned from traveling for "social and cultural reasons" by the Ministry of Education in the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Palestinians talk of protest, little sign of action ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet (Analysis) August 18, 2011 - 12:00am Calls for Palestinian protests to back a diplomatic push for statehood at the United Nations next month have put Israel on guard; the peace process in deep crisis, some see a violent September, inspired by the Arab Spring. Yet to many, a sustained Intifada, or uprising, appears unlikely, at least for now. To ordinary Palestinians, the significance of U.N. manouvres in New York is hard to fathom, their leaders in the West Bank are wary of violence with Israel and their national movement remains weakened by a deep schism. » Read more