Hamas: Egypt offered fuel in return for calm
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 13, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Egypt offered to provide fuel to Gaza if militants agree to a ceasefire with Israel, Hamas-affiliated MP Younis al-Astal said Monday. The Gaza Strip has faced up to 18-hour blackouts per day since Egypt cut fuel supplies through an underground tunnel network, and officials are negotiating an emergency route to stave the power crisis. Gaza's sole power station shut down on Saturday evening for the third time in the past month.

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Behind the scenes, both Israel and Hamas want violence to end
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - (Opinion) March 13, 2012 - 12:00am

Israel and Hamas are delivering quite similar messages behind the scenes, in contrast to their public statements. Both powers in the Gaza conflict want to see the end of the current round of violence, which started Friday. A cease-fire is being stymied right now by two factors: heavy rocket fire by Islamic Jihad, taking full advantage of the weapons it received from Iran; and the lack of an effective way to end the face-off.

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Zahhar: Fatah’s Cooperation With Israel Stalling Unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 9, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar on Thursday said Fatah's cooperation with Israel was stalling national reconciliation. Hamas does not recognize Israel while Fatah, which leads the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, coordinates with Israel under agreements signed in the 1990s. Zahhar, speaking at a conference on the Arab Spring in Gaza City, said Fatah's security coordination had delayed the implementation of an agreement signed by the rival factions last May.

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Palestinian Elections Delayed by Hamas-Fatah Bickering
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - March 9, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH // Palestinians will not hold presidential and parliamentary elections in May because of disagreements between the two main political factions, a Palestinian elections official said this week. The gridlocked Hamas-Fatah reconciliation has made it impossible for the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) to hold elections on May 4, the date originally set by the groups, said the Ramallah-based organisation's chief electoral officer, Hisham Kuhail.

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Hamas is making a tactical appeal to the grassroots
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Tareq Baconi - (Opinion) March 8, 2012 - 1:00am

Hamas officials have said that in the event of a war between Iran and Israel, they will not become involved on Tehran's side. While this is not surprising, other officials within the movement were quick to deny such reports. Historically, Hamas has always gone to great lengths to assert its independence from any foreign influence. It is widely recognised that it receives support from powers such as Syria (until recently) and Iran. Yet this has never been worn as a badge of honour by the movement.

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Hamas Looks to the Future: With Gains Come Dilemmas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
by Yezid Sayigh - (Analysis) March 8, 2012 - 1:00am

Since the start of 2012, the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyya, has traveled to Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Qatar, Bahrain, and Iran. Six years after Hamas achieved victory at the Palestinian ballot box, it has received genuine regional recognition. 

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Hamas Unclear about Role in Israel-Iran Fighting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Karin Laub - March 7, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza's ruling Hamas on Wednesday sent conflicting signals on whether it would stay on the sidelines if war breaks out between Israel and Iran. A Hamas spokesman said the group didn't have enough firepower the enter a regional war, while a senior official later reportedly threatened "retaliation with utmost power."

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Hamas ties to Syria and Iran in flux as region shifts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Karin Brulliard - March 7, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY — Political expression in this seaside strip is firmly regulated by the ruling Islamist militant group Hamas, and the authorities recently approved a robust street rally against an unlikely target: the government in Syria, long Hamas’s benefactor and host. The demonstration, as well as Hamas leaders’ statements in support of Syrian protesters and the abandonment of their Damascus offices, was an indicator of the Gaza-based movement’s stark break with Syria — and of the rapidly shifting partnerships of a changing Middle East.

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Hamas rules out military support for Iran in any war with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - March 6, 2012 - 1:00am

Hamas will not do Iran's bidding in any war with Israel, according to senior figures within the militant Islamic group. "If there is a war between two powers, Hamas will not be part of such a war," Salah Bardawil, a member of the organisation's political bureau in Gaza City, told the Guardian. He denied the group would launch rockets into Israel at Tehran's request in response to a strike on its nuclear sites. "Hamas is not part of military alliances in the region," said Bardawil. "Our strategy is to defend our rights"

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UN: Gaza exports long way off despite trial
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Karin Laub - March 6, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The U.N.'s World Food Program is exporting 140 tons of date bars to the West Bank from Gaza this week, hoping this first shipment in nearly five years will help revive a vital trade route, an official said Tuesday. An Israeli official said a resumption of regular exports from Gaza to the West Bank is unlikely, citing security concerns and a desire not to reward Gaza's Hamas rulers.

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