The New Palestinian Prime Minister
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Council On Foreign Relations
by Elliott Abrams - (Opinion) February 7, 2012 - 1:00am

Once upon a time, progress toward Israeli-Palestinian peace was thought to require reform of Palestinian political institutions. Creation of the post of Palestinian Authority (PA) prime minister, separate from that of PA president, was viewed as a milestone. On March 14, 2003, President Bush marked creation of the prime minister post in a press conference:

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Is Hamas Trying to Change its Stripes?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Mati Wagner - (Analysis) February 7, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Is Hamas trying to change its stripes? Terrorist attacks against Israelis appear to be on pause, and rocket fire from Gaza is down significantly. The Hamas leader in Damascus, Khaled Meshaal, is trying to distance himself from the Assad regime and align Hamas with the forces of the Arab Spring. Hamas’ parent organization in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, has entered mainstream politics in Cairo, and U.S. officials have met with Brotherhood leaders.

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Final member of Damascus-based Hamas politburo leaves Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
February 5, 2012 - 1:00am

A senior member of the Hamas movement politburo, Imad el-Alami, previously based in Syria, returned to the Gaza Strip on Sunday. Hamas sources said he was the last remaining member of the movement's Damascus-based politburo to leave Syria. Hamas decided to leave Syria in order not to be seen as endorsing the regime of President Bashar Assad in his bloody crackdown against his own people.

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Analysis: Hamas on the move, seeks Palestinian ascendancy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Douglas Hamilton - (Analysis) February 2, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Political winds from the Arab Spring are filling the sails of the Hamas, as it seeks a course out of international isolation to the forefront of the Palestinian national movement. Hamas' ties to Syria and Iran are changing. This week, the two top men in the 25-year-old organization dedicated to crushing Israel and establishing Palestine "from the (Jordan) river to the sea" headed off in distinctly different directions for high-level talks, and they began to look intriguingly like rivals.

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Change in political landscape leaves Hamas in financial shortfall
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - February 2, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM // Keeping up with the dramatic changes in the political map of the Middle East is one reason the leaders of Hamas are buzzing around the region in an unprecedented diplomatic campaign. Another less talked about reason is money. The rulers of the Gaza Strip are desperate for it, analysts say. The group's leader, Khaled Meshaal, and its prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, have spent recent weeks visiting eight countries including Jordan and Qatar. Such trips would have been almost unthinkable before the Arab Spring.

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Abbas, Mashaal Expected to Agree to New Govt Thursday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 1, 2012 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal are expected to agree on the structure of a Palestinian national unity government during their meeting in Cairo on Thursday. Secretary-general of Fatah Revolutionary Council Amin Maqboul told Ma'an Monday that failure to appoint a new government was the main obstacle to elections in the West Bank and Gaza. Mashaal, who lives in exile, arrived in Jordan on Sunday where he met King Abdullah II, his first visit since being expelled from the country in 1999.

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Open-door policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) January 31, 2012 - 1:00am

His Majesty King Abdullah’s talks with Hamas politburo chief, Khaled Mishaal, in Amman came to reinforce Jordan’s commitment to help achieve Palestinian reconciliation and unity of ranks for the purpose of arriving at the two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli crisis. The King also confirmed his unequivocal support for the Palestinian Authority under the leadership of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and invited Hamas to forge a united front with the PA, important if the Palestinians wish to acquire clout in facing Israel.

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Washington Watch: Rats deserting the sinking ship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) January 31, 2012 - 1:00am

After more than a dozen years of safe sanctuary in Syria, Hamas is pulling up stakes and looking for a new home as that country becomes engulfed in a bloody uprising. Over the past several days one door closed and another opened for Hamas. Assad & Son, a brutal enterprise with a long history of killing its own people, has given Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups protection, training camps, diplomatic cover, financing and weapons to carry out their war against Israel. They, in turn, have helped Syria retain its un-coveted status as a state sponsor of terrorism.

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Meshaal's cordial visit to Jordan helps open 'new page' in relations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - January 30, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM // The leaders of Hamas have never been known for globetrotting or an appetite for diplomatic fanfare. They were confined to the Gaza Strip, unable to leave because of the Israeli blockade of the coastal enclave. Or, if they were among the clutch of senior Hamas officials based in Damascus, they maintained a low profile to avoid testing the patience and straining the hospitality of their Syrian hosts. Those days are gone.

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Turkey denies providing financial aid to Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 30, 2012 - 1:00am

ANKARA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkish foreign ministry officials on Sunday denied the claims that the country has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic movement Hamas that controls Gaza, local media reports said. Officials from Turkey's foreign ministry approached by Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman said such allegations were "made up and did not reflect the truth." Western media have reported that Turkey would provide some 300 million U.S. dollars to Hamas following Gazan leader Ismail Haniyeh's visit to Ankara earlier this month, according to Today's Zaman.

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