Hamas says Obama's speech leaning to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Islamic Hamas movement on Thursday rejected U.S. President Barack Obama's speech on the Middle East, accusing him of leaning towards Israel. "Obama adopted Israel's position to boost himself in preparation for an electoral campaign," said Mahmoud Zahar, a Gaza- based leader of Hamas, which does not recognize Israel. Obama delivered a speech Thursday in which he urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks, stalled over a dispute on settlement activities since last year.

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"Resistance is our legitimate right"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
(Interview) May 18, 2011 - 12:00am

BI: The US killing of Osama bin Laden provides an opportunity to look back at recent years. What are the lessons that Hamas learned in the period after September 11 until today? Specifically, what has Hamas learned about its program of resistance? Bardawil: First of all, we have to distinguish between Hamas' project of resistance against the occupation and Bin Laden's project of global jihad. Our project preceded Bin Laden's [and is] part of our legal right to end the occupation and get our freedom.

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Rights group accuses PA and Hamas of torture
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Sawafta - May 17, 2011 - 12:00am

A human rights body on Tuesday accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) of torture and arbitrary detention and warned it not to repeat the mistakes of Arab states by allowing security forces to become too powerful. The Independent Commission for Human Rights, releasing an annual report on human rights in the PA-ruled West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, said Hamas was also guilty of torture and arbitrary arrest.

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Israel's Netanyahu takes aim at Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ian Deitch - May 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday took a tough line toward an emerging Palestinian government ahead of a high-profile trip to Washington, saying "those that want to destroy us are not partners in peace." Netanyahu reiterated a willingness to agree to a Palestinian state under certain conditions but made clear he did not believe it was possible if the Islamic militant group Hamas, which is set to join a Palestinian unity government with the Western-leaning Fatah movement, does not recognize Israel.

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Hamas sends signals of moderation to West
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Josef Federman - May 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Hamas, the Islamic militant group known for suicide bombings, rocket attacks and hatred of Israel, is sending subtle signals of moderation as it prepares to join a Palestinian unity government. Hamas officials speak of reconciliation with the West and a halt in armed hostilities with Israel, and even hint at some sort of political accommodation with the Jewish state. While Israel is not convinced, there are hopes in some Palestinian circles that the Iran-backed group could become a more accepted part of the Mideast diplomatic equation.

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Middle East peace: The wrong pact
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) May 12, 2011 - 12:00am

The world shared the American people's gratitude for the special forces who rid us of Osama bin Laden, but there was one flagrant exception. "We condemn the assassination of an Arab holy warrior," declared Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Hamas regime in Gaza, who also deplored "the continuing American policy … of shedding Muslim blood."

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Hamas: Recognizing Israel jeopardizes rights
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Hamas will accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, but will maintain its refusal to recognize Israel, party leader Mahmoud Az-Zahhar told Ma'an on Wednesday. Speaking with Ma'an radio, the official said that Hamas was ready to recognize a Palestinian state "on any part of Palestine," for the first time publicly steering away from prior Hamas demands that the modern Palestinian state must be established "from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea."

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Hamas skeptical of Fatah's statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - May 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar said Wednesday that the Islamist movement was somewhat skeptical as to the viability of Fatah's September-bound bid for statehood. Speaking with the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency, al-Zahar said that "all the talk of a Palestinian state is… an attempt to pacify us."

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Right of Reply: Sensible statecraft
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Matthew Gould - (Opinion) May 11, 2011 - 12:00am

This paper’s recent editorial “Befuddled Britain” (May 6) was based on the understandable fear of many Israelis that the world will go misty-eyed about Hamas and let wishful thinking triumph over judgment. Britain understands that fear, and has been clear that it will not suddenly go soft on Hamas. Britain understands the threat Hamas poses to Israel, and the hate-filled ideology that pervades Hamas’s charter. But while the editorial was right to set out the importance of moral clarity, it was wrong to misrepresent Britain’s position on the issue on the basis of innuendo and falsehoods.

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Arab League chief: Hamas not a terror group
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 10, 2011 - 12:00am

Arab League Secretary-General and one of Egypt's leading presidential candidates Amr Moussa does not believe Hamas is a terrorist organization. In an interview with the Washington Post, Moussa said: "The view that Hamas is a terrorist organization is a view that pertains to a minority of countries, not a majority. Being a terrorist is not a stigma forever."

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