Hamas' pragmatism is worth searching out
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Mahmoud Jaraba - (Opinion) November 16, 2010 - 1:00am

Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’ political wing, told Newsweek on October 14 that “there is a position and program that all Palestinians share. To accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the capital. With the right of return. And this state would have real sovereignty on the land and on the borders. And with no settlements.” Meshaal noted that Hamas would accept any agreement with which a majority of Palestinians agreed, adding that “the American administration should hear from us directly.”

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Fayyad: Security pluralism exhausting us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Saturday that efforts to reconcile with Hamas should focus on security rather than political issues, the London-based Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported. "Progress is measured according to political pluralism, which is a source of strength if it managed appropriately. What exhausts us is security pluralism not political pluralism," Fayyad was quoted as saying. Security was the most important issue to achieve the main objective, the creation of a Palestinian state, the prime minister said.

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GAZA: Book explores vibrant, diverse graffiti-art scene in war-torn strip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
(Book Review) November 13, 2010 - 1:00am

Joy, sadness, dreams and politics are among the emotions and messages expressed in graffiti paintings and murals on the concrete walls of Gaza, captured in a recently published book on graffiti art in the strip.

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Fatah official: Talks waste of time
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 12, 2010 - 1:00am

The gap between Fatah and Hamas is very big despite the recent commitment to continue talks in Damascus, head of Fatah's unity talks delegation Azzam Al-Ahmad told the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper Thursday. Outlining the basic divisions, Al-Ahmad said both sides claimed to be in charge of the legitimate security service, with Director of the PA's General Intelligence Majed Faraj and Fatah Central Committee member Sakher Bseiso holding firm on the belief that security services in the West Bank are "complete and legitimate and cannot be restructured,."

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Abbas talks peace process at Arafat memorial
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 12, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinians will not accept Israel's construction of settlements on occupied Palestinian land, President Mahmoud Abbas told a crowd attending a memorial for late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday in Ramallah. "We don't want settlements on our land for they are illegitimate from the beginning. We all are sure that Jerusalem is the Palestinians' capital and the refugees will return," he said to the tens of thousands gathered at the site dedicated to the construction of the Arafat Museum.

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Palestinian leader: Peace better than settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - November 11, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian president says Israelis should choose peace over West Bank settlements. Mahmoud Abbas spoke Thursday at a rally marking the sixth anniversary of the death of his predecessor, Yasser Arafat. Thousand attended, waving Palestinian flags. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have stalled over Israel's refusal to halt settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, war-won territories the Palestinians want for their state.

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Fatah-Hamas dialogue in Damascus ends with no progress: Spokesman
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
November 11, 2010 - 1:00am

The second round of dialogue between Islamic Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah party held in Damascus ended on Wednesday with no progress, a Hamas spokesman said. Ayman Taha, a Gaza-based Hamas spokesman told Xinhua that the second round of dialogue, which was held for two days, had ended without reaching any agreement on the thorny security issue.

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Palestinians gather in Ramallah to mark anniversary of Arafat death
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
November 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Thousands of people began gathering at the Palestinian Authority's headquarters in Ramallah on Thursday to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the death of their leader, Yasser Arafat. More were expected to arrive, as supporters of Arafat's Fatah movement were being bused in from all over the West Bank to the Mukata'a headquarters in the central city.

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Israel arrests Hamas official in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
November 10, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army arrested a Hamas official in the West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinian sources said. The soldiers detained Mahmoud al-Rumhi, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), in his house near Ramallah city, sources from his family told Xinhua. In March 2009, Israel released al-Rumhi after 32 months of detention.

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UN: No change in Gaza despite easing of Israel blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jon Donnison - November 10, 2010 - 1:00am

In June Israel said it would lift some of its restrictions on Gaza to allow in more food and consumer goods. The move followed international pressure after the deaths of nine Turkish activists aboard a flotilla of ships trying to break the blockade. The head of UN operations in Gaza said few people had noticed any difference. "There's been no material change for the people on the ground here in terms of their status, the aid dependency, the absence of any recovery or reconstruction, no economy," the UN's John Ging told the BBC.

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