Hamas leader wants Israeli soldier held until demands met
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 16, 2011 - 12:00am

The deposed premier of the Hamas government called on the Islamic movement to keep holding a soldier hostage unless Israel accepts Palestinian demands. In a speech in Gaza City, Ismail Haneya also called on the Palestinian people to support his movement to "achieve an honorable swap" in which a number of Palestinian and Arab prisoners will be released from Israeli jails. The Hamas kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid near the Gaza Strip in 2006. Germany and Egypt have mediated to broker a deal between the Hamas and Israel, but the gap between the two sides was wide.


Palestinian factions denounce murder of Italian activist
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian factions have condemned the murder of Italian peace activist Vittorio Arrigoni found dead in Gaza early Friday morning. Salafist extremists in Gaza were suspected of kidnapping Arrigoni, an activist for the International Solidarity Movement, last seen alive in a video posted online Thursday. In the video, the kidnappers threatened to kill Arrigoni unless Hamas released Salafist prisoners by Friday evening. Before the deadline passed, however, Hamas said his body was found hanged in a home northwest of Gaza City.

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Hamas is Missing the Train of History
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Blog) April 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The extremist Islamist ‘Monotheism and Holy War Group’ has gruesomely murdered an Italian peace activist, Vittorio Arrigoni briefly after kidnapping him. This seems to have been retaliation against Hamas’ detention of two of its leaders a few days ago, even though it was first presented as an attempt to force Hamas to release the organization’s leaders. This shows, more than ever, that Hamas is running into insoluble problems.

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GAZA STRIP: Kidnapped Italian activist found dead; Hamas condemns rival radical group
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Ahmed al-Dabba - (Blog) April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Hours after an Islamist extremist group announced it had kidnapped an Italian peace activist in the Gaza Strip, the man's body was discovered in the restive seaside territory. It was the first kidnapping of a Westerner in four years and one of the few times such an abduction has ended fatally.

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Hamas and the Iranian life-line
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Dr. Hamad Al-Majid - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Has Iran begun to reap the fruits of its support for Hamas? Some observers believe that the recent conversion of several Gazans to Shiism represents one of these fruits. The Al-Arabiya website, citing a report published by the Arsiran website – which is affiliated to a number of conservative groups in Iran – published a story claiming that the Shiite doctrine is beginning to spread in Gaza and that the number [of converts] reaches into the hundreds. Abdul Raheem Hamad, a Gazan convert, also expressed the same point [in this report].

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Hamas split on resuming Gaza fire against Israel, top IDF officer says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Hamas' diplomatic leadership is interested in maintaining relative calm along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, a top Israel Defense Forces officer said on Wednesday, while the group's military commanders are bent on resuming attacks. The remarks by GOC Southern Command Tal Russo come as international mediators brokered a respite to the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas. The cross border conflict escalated dramatically last week, becoming the most intense confrontation between the two since Israel's war in the Palestinian territory in late December 2008.

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War Clouds Back Over Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Mel Frykber - April 12, 2011 - 12:00am

After several days of intense violence, during which 19 Palestinians were killed and one Israeli wounded, a fragile calm has returned to Gaza. But political commentators argue that this could well be a precursor to Israel’s next war on the coastal territory. During the last week the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched a series of attacks following a rocket attack from Gaza which hit an Israeli school bus, seriously injuring a 16-year-old pupil.

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Hamas denies report of Syria sponsoring inter-Palestinian dialogue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Damascus-based Palestinian Hamas ' politburo member Izzat al-Rishq said here on Tuesday that reports about Egypt's proposal for Syria to sponsor inter-Palestinian dialogue are not true. Al-Rishq told Xinhua via the phone that Egypt remains the official custodian of the reconciliation talks between the Palestinian Hamas and Fatah organizations. London-based Arab daily al-Hayat reported earlier the day that Egypt has suggested Syria to sponsor the reconciliation rounds between Fatah and Hamas.

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Lieberman: Israel should topple Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel should not settle for a truce with Hamas in Gaza, and should instead seek to topple the Islamist rulers of the coastal strip, Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday. "The goal that we have settled on, of seeking a return to calm, is a grave error because it will allow Hamas to reinforce along the lines of Hezbollah," Lieberman told public radio, referring to the Lebanese militia with which Israel fought a 2006 war, killing 1,200, mostly civilians.

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Lieberman: Gaza ceasefire is not in Israel's interests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) April 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke out against a ceasefire with Hamas on Monday morning, following renewed violence emanating from the Gaza Strip in the past four days. In an interview with Israel Radio, he said, "Hamas is fighting a war of attrition against us. We won't come to terms with a situation in which they decide when there's quiet and when the area heats up." Lieberman added that a ceasefire with Hamas is against Israel's national interests. He said he is working to implement the coalition agreement, which says that the government will work towards overthrowing Hamas.

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