February 4th

Rights group: PA banning freedom of expression ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 4, 2011 - 1:00am A Palestinian rights group on Thursday warned of deteriorating freedom of expression in the West Bank, as the PA banned "unlicensed assembly" in response to rallies in solidarity with Egyptians. In a statement, the Palestinian Commission for Human Rights condemned the PA's closure of the demonstrations. On Wednesday, PA security forces shut down a rally in Ramallah, using batons to push demonstrators back and detaining at least two protesters. PCHR said a number of journalists were also detained at the event. » Read more

Fayyad: Occupation factor in regional instability ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 4, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Thursday said the failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had contributed to unrest across the Middle East. Fayyad said protests across the region reflected people's desire for political reform and their legitimate aspirations for democracy. But while internal conditions sparked the wave of demonstrations across the Arab world, the PA premier said the ongoing occupation of Palestine was a source of growing despair for Arab people. » Read more

What Egypt's unrest could mean for Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - February 3, 2011 - 1:00am As Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's grip on power slipped this week, Israelis and Palestinians are sizing up what a change in government in Cairo may mean for the Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority officials fear the empowerment of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt might prompt Cairo to ease access to Gaza, and help Hamas consolidate its rule there. » Read more

Ministers: Paris to host new Palestinian donor conference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 4, 2011 - 1:00am Paris will host a new international donor conference for a Palestinian state in June, ministers from donor countries and the so-called Quartet on the Middle East said following talks Thursday. "At the request of the PA, a new international donors? conference for the Palestinian State will be held in Paris in June 2011," a statement released after the talks said, referring to the Palestinian Authority. The group also "call on Israel to take more ambitious, structural measures to continue to ease access and movement" of Palestinians. » Read more

February 3rd

PA: Elections will go forward, date to be set ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 3, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian Authority Minister of Local Governance Khaled Al-Qawasmeh confirmed Wednesday that the West Bank government would make a decision on the date of municipal elections in the coming session of the Central Election Committee. The elections would likely come in May, the official said, at least two weeks earlier than the likely date an official from Fatah estimated speaking with Ma'an on Tuesday. Fatah Central Committee member Muhammad Al-Madani had said the PA was "adamant" that elections be held on July 17, 2011, one year after they were supposed to have taken place. » Read more

Israeli military maneuvers in Syrian Golan Heights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 3, 2011 - 1:00am The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched wide-range military maneuvers in Syria's occupied Golan Heights, the Damascus Press news website reported Thursday. The IDF Wednesday started live-ammo land drill as hundreds of tanks and thousands of soldiers, backed by helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, massed to drill simulations of war. » Read more

Israeli military maneuvers in Syrian Golan Heights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 3, 2011 - 1:00am The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched wide-range military maneuvers in Syria's occupied Golan Heights, the Damascus Press news website reported Thursday. The IDF Wednesday started live-ammo land drill as hundreds of tanks and thousands of soldiers, backed by helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, massed to drill simulations of war. » Read more

Egypt crisis spells trouble for Mideast peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Josef Federman - February 2, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has only recently and grudgingly accepted the idea of an independent Palestinian state next to Israel. With Egypt in flux, efforts to bring this about may soon go into deep freeze. Israel's main concern is whether its peace agreement with Egypt, which underpins its security in a hostile Arab world, can survive without President Hosni Mubarak at the helm. » Read more

Abbas says not to run for re-election ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 3, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Wednesday that he doesn't intend to run in any upcoming presidential elections, a senior Palestinian official said. The Palestinian leadership is seriously studying to prepare for holding new parliamentary and presidential elections, the official said on condition of anonymity. "President Abbas is expected to call for holding the elections soon, but he hasn't setup a date yet," the official said, in the aftermath of a meeting of Abbas Fatah movement's revolutionary council held in Ramallah. » Read more

Hamas rejects local elections under division ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Wang Guanqun - February 2, 2011 - 1:00am Islamic Hamas movement on Wednesday said it boycotts any local elections as long as split in the Palestinian territories remains in place. A statement by Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, rejected the West Bank-based government's announcement that municipal elections would be held in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Moreover, the statement described the government, led by Salam Fayyad, as "illegal," adding that the elections "will be null and their results unrecognized if they were held without agreement and under the split." » Read more