May 5th

Circus of the Dancing Bears ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am Watching the current Hamas-Fatah unity circus, I can't help but think of Rabin's comment. For the former Israeli prime minister, Yasir Arafat was the bear and the Oslo process was their choreographed dance. Rabin was no sentimentalist and he recognized Arafat's many weaknesses as a partner, but he continued to engage with him because he believed his counterpart had taken tough positions. Oslo was a good faith effort to achieve a goal. » Read more

Palestinian unity pact still faces big hurdles ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Paul Richter, Edmund Sanders - May 5, 2011 - 12:00am Rival Palestinian factions celebrated the signing of a reconciliation pact they hope will end their four-year split and accelerate efforts to form an independent state. But the agreement faces fierce opposition from Israel, places new hurdles on American-led efforts to forge a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians, and still must overcome lingering distrust between the two factions: the moderate secular Fatah party in the West Bank and the militant Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Syria's Palestinians try to stay neutral amid turmoil ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Phil Sands - May 5, 2011 - 12:00am Syria's Palestinians, wary of being sucked into an internecine fight, are struggling to remain neutral as the authorities and anti-government protesters pressure them to choose a side in the Syrian uprising. Half a million Palestinian refugees live in Syria, a majority of them in Damascus. They have become largely assimilated: marrying into Syrian families, employed with Syrian co-workers in government bureaucracies and housed alongside Syrian neighbours. » Read more

A cautionary tale for Mideast peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by David Ignatius - (Opinion) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am As Washington buzzes about yet another restart for Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, I have been reading a book that summarizes the past 44 years of botched peacemaking, blown opportunities and, sometimes, sheer folly. The book is a posthumous memoir by Jack O’Connell, a former CIA operative who was for many years King Hussein’s “case officer” in Jordan. Yes, you read that right: When O’Connell was station chief in Amman from 1963 to 1971, he dropped off monthly envelopes of cash at the palace as part of a long-running CIA covert action code-named “NOBEEF.” » Read more

Palestinian factions pushed together by regional events ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Michael Young - (Opinion) May 5, 2011 - 12:00am Much uncertainty still surrounds the outcome of yesterday's signing in Cairo of a reconciliation accord between Palestinian factions. However, there is no question that the arrangement was facilitated by the dramatic recent developments in the Arab world. The regional constraints faced by the main Palestinian organisations, Fatah and Hamas, are likely to reframe the debate over Hamas's participation in a Palestinian government, regardless of the movement's position on a settlement with Israel. » Read more

A Sliver of Hope Unites West Bank and Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram, Isabel Kershner - May 4, 2011 - 12:00am Thousands of Palestinians, led by youth activists, have poured onto the streets of the West Bank and Gaza in recent months to demand national reconciliation. But when the leaders of the rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, signed a historic, if preliminary, agreement in Cairo on Wednesday to end a four-year schism and unify the two Palestinian territories, wariness and skepticism precluded any mass outpouring of joy. » Read more

Palestinian reconciliation and the missing questions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Bilal Hassen - (Opinion) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am The news of the Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas was welcomed by the Palestinian and Arab public. However this welcome was tinged with a sense of surprise. What happened to cause these two parties to reconcile this quickly, and indeed sign the Egyptian reconciliation document this quickly, particularly as Hamas previously rejected this agreement, demanding its amendment? What happened to cause Egypt to agree to make the amendments demanded by Hamas, although it long rejected this? » Read more

Clinton Leaves Door Open After Palestinian Deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Alan Cowell - May 5, 2011 - 12:00am A day after the main Palestinian factions signed a unity agreement in Cairo, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton strikingly refused on Thursday to rule out further negotiations with a Palestinian side that includes Hamas, the militant Islamic group that runs Gaza and is defined by many in the West as a terrorist organization. But she reiterated the Obama administration’s call for Hamas to accept basic conditions that included renouncing violence and recognizing Israel’s right to exist. » Read more

Fatah-Hamas deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am It is Netanyahu who must now choose between illegal settlements and peace ISRAELI Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to the Fatah-Hamas peace deal was to threaten Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, saying he needed to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas. » Read more

Fatah-Hamas deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am It is Netanyahu who must now choose between illegal settlements and peace ISRAELI Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to the Fatah-Hamas peace deal was to threaten Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, saying he needed to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas. » Read more