Israeli Panel Finds No Crime in 2002 Assassination
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - February 27, 2011 - 1:00am

Nearly nine years after an Israeli assassination of a Hamas leader in Gaza killed at least 13 civilians and led to widespread international condemnation, a government-appointed panel of inquiry concluded Sunday that the operation was flawed but that the consequences “did not stem from disregard or indifference to human lives.”

»

Gaza's Islamist rulers hounding secular community
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Diaa Hadid - February 25, 2011 - 1:00am

After nearly four years of Hamas rule, the Gaza Strip's small secular community is in tatters, decimated by the militant group's campaign to impose its strict version of Islam in the coastal territory. Hamas has bullied men and women to dress modestly, tried to keep the sexes from mingling in public and sparked a flight of secular university students and educated professionals. Most recently, it has confiscated novels it deems offensive to Islam from a bookshop and banned Gaza's handful of male hairdressers from styling women's hair.

»

Hamas: Post-Mubarak, Israel up for Shalit deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Hamas officials have decided to hold confidential discussions with Israel, reviving negotiations for a prisoner swap, Hamas spokesman Usama Al-Maziani said Wednesday. In the wake of the ouster of now former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the official said, Hamas leaders in Gaza believe Israel has become "more responsive" to a prisoner swap deal. According to Al-Maziani, Israeli officials had shown some "limited" responses to Hamas overtures seeking to secure the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel in return for the release of a captured Israeli soldier.

»

Hamas growing stronger, without firing a shot
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Crispian Balmer - (Editorial) February 23, 2011 - 1:00am

Hamas is having a good revolution. The unrest that has transformed the Arab world outside the tiny coastal enclave has boosted the standing of the Islamist group within Gaza and strengthened its position against the rival Palestinian Authority, which holds sway in the West Bank. Hamas greeted the downfall of Egyptian former President Hosni Mubarak with euphoria, sensing that his departure would weaken Israel's stranglehold on the impoverished territory that has crippled its economy and confined its inhabitants.

»

No objections from Hamas on unity govt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 21, 2011 - 1:00am

Hamas has suggested the formation of a unity government several times already, but always faced opposition from the PA, a senior party member in the West Bank told Ma'an Sunday. Hamas leader Ayman Daraghma did not rule out participating in a new Palestinian Authority cabinet, and hinted that the ongoing unrest in the Arab world might give Fatah, which leads the West Bank government, the motivation to end the Palestinian political crisis.

»

Hamas orders male hairstylists out of lady salons
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
February 21, 2011 - 1:00am

A Gaza rights group says the ruling Hamas militant group has barred male hairdressers from working in women's salons. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said Monday that five male hairdressers were interrogated and forced to sign declarations that they wouldn't work in women's salons. Male hairdressers for women are rare in conservative Gaza where genders rarely mix in public. Hamas tried to impose a similar ban last March, but backed down after an outcry.

»

Report: Fayyad offers Hamas Gaza, unity govt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Appointed PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has reportedly offered space in a unity government to Hamas, the Associated Press reported Sunday. Fayyad told the news organization that the move was aimed at ensuring presidential and legislative elections would go forward by September, after Hamas earlier refused to participate in the PA-run call to vote. According to the AP report, Hamas would remain in power in Gaza under an agreement that it would see it maintain a ceasefire with Israel, while Fayyad would govern in the West Bank.

»

Palestinian offers Hamas unity deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - February 20, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian prime minister appealed Sunday to the rival Hamas group to join him in a united government, offering to allow the Islamic militants to retain security control of the Gaza Strip until elections later this year. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's proposal to his Islamic militant rivals reflected the Palestinians' deep frustration over Washington's handling of Mideast peace efforts. That anger was underscored over the weekend when the U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

»

Hamas sees opportunity in change in Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - February 18, 2011 - 1:00am

Egypt's revolution brought sudden and unintended freedom to Ayman Nofal. During the chaos in Cairo, the senior Hamas commander broke out of an Egyptian jail with thousands of other prisoners, traversed the Sinai desert in a series of getaway cars, crawled through a smuggling tunnel at the border and emerged back home in the Gaza Strip to a hero's welcome. Now Nofal has one thing on his mind. "I'm anxious to get back to fighting Israel," the 37-year-old Palestinian militant said in his Nuseirat refugee camp home, surrounded by several of his six children and a plastic flower bouquet.

»

Sderot conference hosts Gaza residents
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Hanan Greenberg - February 16, 2011 - 1:00am

A conference that opened in Sderot Monday, called 'Gaza-Sderot', brought a number of Palestinian residents of the Strip to the nearby southern town, where they stayed the night. The delegation was meant to include 30 people, but only 15 succeeded in gaining entry into Israel after fervent security measures. Many of the Palestinians who attended the conference asked to remain anonymous, for fear they would be attacked upon returning home.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017