Hamas Premier Visits Iran in Sign of Strong Relations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram, Isabel Kershner - February 10, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA — Ismail Haniya, the prime minister of the Hamas government in Gaza, arrived in Iran on Friday for a visit that suggested that relations between Hamas and Iran remained good despite reports of tensions over Syria.

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Hamas obstructs election commission from working in Gaza: chairman
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 9, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Hamas authorities obstruct the work of Central Elections Commission (CEC) in the Gaza Strip, CEC chairman Hanna Nasser said Thursday. Two weeks after Hamas allowed the CEC to operate in Gaza, the commission's staff are not yet allowed to start updating voter records, Nasser told Xinhua. Hamas' government "asked us to linger in preparing for elections," Nasser explained, adding that this delay was unjustifiable."

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Abbas’ Deal with Hamas Gets Support from Fatah, PLO
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 9, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday got support from his Fatah party and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to the agreement he had reached with rival Hamas movement. The Central Committee of Fatah and the PLO's Executive Committee met in the West Bank city of Ramallah and welcomed the deal, which was struck in Qatar Sunday. According to the agreement, Abbas will form an interim government to prepare for elections in the Palestinian territories, including in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

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Hamas Drifting Away From Longtime Patron Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Karin Laub - February 9, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas appears to be drifting away from its longtime patron Iran — part of a shift that began with last year's Arab Spring and accelerated over Tehran's backing of the pariah regime in Syria. The movement's top leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, wants Hamas to be part of the broader Islamist political rise triggered by the popular uprisings sweeping across the Arab world. For this, Hamas needs new friends like the wealthy Gulf states that are at odds with Iran.

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Fatah Official: Abbas Can Head Government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas can appoint himself as head of the next government, a Fatah official said Wednesday, dismissing criticism that the move to bolster unity had no standing in Palestinian law. Azzam Ahmad said no law prevented Abbas from heading the government. "I advise those who reject this to read the laws again; we are a presidential system, not parliamentary." The Doha agreement signed Monday by Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal has been welcomed and criticized, with some saying the president had overstepped the parliament's authority.

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Legal Controversy on Abbas’ Posts Grows After Doha Delaration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly - February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A legal controversy over the posts of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rose on Tuesday, one day after he agreed in Qatar with Islamic Hamas movement's chief Khaled Meshaal that Abbas will form and lead a unified transitional government. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that if Abbas as president of the Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) also becomes the prime minister of the Palestinian government, "there would be doubts on whether he will be able to run in the upcoming presidential elections or not."

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Is Palestinian Handshake Much Ado About Nothing?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM // After Hamas and Fatah agreed to form a unity government and hold elections, you would think their rapprochement would be cause for optimism among Palestinians. But just ask Mohammed Youssef. He flatly dismissed Monday's accord as nothing more than a ruse between Fatah's chairman and the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas and outgoing Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to quell public anger over the slow pace of their reconciliation.

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Who is Hamas? 5 Questions About the Palestinian Militant Group
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Arthur Bright - February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

1. What are the origins of Hamas? Hamas emerged as the Palestinian wing of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood after the outbreak of the first intifada in 1987 and is the largest Palestinian militant organization, as Kristen Chick wrote in a 2009 Monitor briefing. An Arabic word that means zeal or enthusiasm, "Hamas" is also an acronym for the group's official Arabic name, the Islamic Resistance Movement.

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Hamas split threatens Palestinian unity deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal al-Mughrabi - February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Hamas's Gaza-based leadership challenged on Wednesday a Palestinian reconciliation deal signed by the Islamist group's political chief in exile and President Mahmoud Abbas of the rival Fatah movement. Bringing divisions within Hamas to the surface, the group's "Change and Reform" Gaza parliamentary bloc came out against a key clause in the pact under which Abbas would serve both as president and prime minister of a future Palestinian government.

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State Department Plays Down Warnings about Hamas-Fatah Announcement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Fox News
February 7, 2012 - 1:00am

The State Department played down warnings Tuesday over the latest step toward a unity government between Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah, saying "the fundamentals have not changed" despite claims that the deal imperils the already anemic peace process. Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Tuesday with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and they discussed how "it's not particularly clear what this agreement will change."

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