'Mashaal agreed to non-violence, pre-67 borders'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
December 17, 2011 - 1:00am

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal agreed in the context of reconciliation with Fatah that resistance to Israel must be non-violent and a Palestinian state should be based on the1967 borders, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview with the Euronews international television network. Speaking in the interview aired Friday, Abbas said that Mashaal agreed to those two points, as well as to elections in May 2012 when the two met last month.

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Will Hamas Now Abandon Syria and Assad?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Business Times
by Palash R. Ghosh - (Interview) December 16, 2011 - 1:00am

The ongoing rebellion (and brutal government crackdown) in Syria has presented an embarrassment for Hamas, the Palestinian militant organization which was embraced by President Bashar al-Assad and given a home in Damascus for several years. Reportedly, some lower-tier Hamas members have already fled Syria, although the leadership has insisted it will stay. Moreover, Hamas groups on Gaza and West Bank have not (to any significant degree) staged protests against Assad, the way they did for former Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.

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Emboldened Hamas renews call for the end of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - December 15, 2011 - 1:00am

Hamas yesterday declared itself bolstered by the Arab Spring and the exchange with Israel of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, as the group mounted a show of strength with tens of thousands attending a lavishly staged rally in the centre of Gaza City. Gaza's ruling Islamic faction bussed in supporters from across the territory for a mass rally to mark its 24th anniversary at which their leaders' rhetoric laid heavy emphasis on continued adherence to armed struggle and the eventual "liberation" of the whole land, including what is now Israel.

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Second phase of prisoner swap underway
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 14, 2011 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – The Palestinian Prisoners' Society said Wednesday that the Israeli prison service has notified the detainees who will be released in the second phase of the prisoner swap deal. The society has released a list naming detainees it says will be freed. Israel released 477 prisoners on Oct. 18 and agreed to free an additional 550 detainees within two months in a captive exchange deal with Hamas to secure the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

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Zahhar: No elections in May
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 14, 2011 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar said Tuesday it was unlikely that elections would be held in May as scheduled. In an interview with Egyptian media, Zahhar said a unity government and security committee needed to be formed to ensure a transparent vote, Cairo-based Al-Ahram reported. He questioned on what basis elections could be held as neither of these prerequisites had been met, according to the newspaper report citing the Middle East News Agency.

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Hamas' Gaza anniversary draws tens of thousands
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ibrahim Barzak - December 14, 2011 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Tens of thousands of Gazans turned out Wednesday for an anniversary rally of the ruling Hamas, a demonstration of strength for the Islamic militant movement ahead of Palestinian general elections tentatively set for the spring. The annual rally has become an increasingly elaborate exercise in stagecraft since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 following internal fighting with forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Hamas in Gaza says it's learning from Arab Spring
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - December 12, 2011 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Bans on women smoking water pipes in public and male coiffeurs styling women's hair are no longer being strictly enforced in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, apparent signs of greater tolerance as the Islamic militant group acknowledges mistakes in seeking to impose a religious lifestyle.

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Arab World: Searching for a new home?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

There, Hamas came out in support of the demonstrators and even urged them to topple their leaders. Hamas was the first Palestinian group to welcome the downfall of Tunisia’s Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Libya’s Muammar Ghaddafi. With Syria, however, Hamas has found itself in a delicate situation. On the one hand, Hamas can’t afford to voice support for those who are seeking to overthrow a regime that has been hosting and backing the movement for more than two decades.

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Hamas uncertainty as Syria slides closer to civil war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Bill Law - December 8, 2011 - 1:00am

The unrest in Syria has raised serious questions over whether the political leadership of the militant Islamist group Hamas can remain in Damascus. However, the group's options are limited. The assumption that Hamas is poised to exit its headquarters in Damascus and sees Cairo as a likely new home may be based more on wishful thinking than fact. Hamas, the largest Palestinian militant Islamist organisation, was formed in 1987 at the beginning of the first intifada, or Palestinian uprising against Israel's occupation in the West Bank and Gaza.

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Israeli officials expel Hamas lawmaker from Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - December 6, 2011 - 1:00am

REPORTING FROM RAMALLAH, WEST BANK – Israeli police following military court orders Tuesday expelled a Hamas lawmaker from Jerusalem and sent him to the West Bank city of Ramallah. Ahmad Attoun, who was elected to the Palestinian Authority parliament in 2006, was brought before an Israeli military court near Ramallah on Tuesday morning, which ruled to expel him. He was later taken to the Kalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah, where he was ordered to cross into the West Bank with clear instructions not to enter Jerusalem again.

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