Qatar opens diplomatic office in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
October 30, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In a boost to Gaza's Hamas government, the Gulf state of Qatar said on Sunday it opened the first diplomatic office in the isolated territory since the Islamic military group took power five years ago.

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Israel deports activists from Gaza-bound ship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
October 25, 2012 - 12:00am

Immigration authorities on Wednesday deported 15 international activists who were arrested after their ship, the Estelle, attempted to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza. The pro-Palestinian activists were sent back to their homelands, with two more scheduled to be deported late Wednesday night. Ten other activists were deported on Sunday and Monday. Three of the activists are Israeli and were released on bail.

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Why Is Qatar Mucking Around in Gaza?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by David B. Roberts - (Opinion) October 25, 2012 - 12:00am

A deeply contrarian streak has taken hold in Qatar these days. Insulated by U.S. security guarantees, eager to use its burgeoning fiscal reserves, and propelled by its elites' reformist zeal, Doha continues to exert a disproportionate influence on regional politics. Emir Hamad bin Khalifah Al Thani's latest move was a dramatic visit to the Gaza Strip, becoming the first head of state to visit the Palestinian territory since Hamas wrested control of it in 2007.

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Qatari Emir's Gaza visit may boost Hamas rule to international open-up
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
(Analysis) October 23, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The visit of the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Ben Khalifa al Thani on Tuesday to the Gaza Strip is politically symbolic, as it was the first ever visit of an Arab leader since Hamas' violent takeover of the coastal enclave in June 2007.

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Qatar’s Emir Visits Gaza, Pledging $400 Million to Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - October 23, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The emir of Qatar on Tuesday became the first head of state to visit the Gaza Strip since Hamas took full control of it in 2007, the latest step in an ambitious campaign by the tiny Persian Gulf nation to leverage its outsize pocketbook in support of Islamists across the region — and one that threatened to widen the rift between rival Palestinian factions.

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Qatar visit breaks Gaza ice, delights Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - October 23, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The Emir of Qatar embraced the Hamas leadership of Gaza on Tuesday with an official visit that broke the isolation of the Palestinian Islamist movement, to the dismay of Israel and rival, Western-backed Palestinian leaders.

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Israel counted food needs in Gaza blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - October 17, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military calculated the number of calories Gaza's residents would need to consume to avoid malnutrition during a sweeping blockade imposed on the Palestinian territory between 2007 and mid-2010, according to a document the Defense Ministry released under a court order. Critics claim the document is evidence that Israel limited food supplies in order to put pressure on Hamas, the violently anti-Israel militant group that seized power in the coastal strip in mid-2007.

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Arafat aide: Israel reaching out to Abbas successors
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 15, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- A former adviser to President Yasser Arafat on Saturday accused Israel of working to replace the current president behind the scenes. Bassam Abu Sharif said Israeli officials were making calls to Palestinian figures in Israeli jail to scope out a successor to President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as to people close to the president.

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As Israeli elections near, Palestinians feel nothing but despair
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - (Analysis) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH - On Monday, Yossi Beilin sat alongside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas  in a convention hall in Mukataa, and waxed nostalgic. “We used to work without the Americans,” he said. “Clinton heard about Oslo two weeks before the White House ceremony." Abbas, a bitter smile on his face, corrected him. “A week before,” he said.

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West Bank cash crisis as donors fail to pay
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Matthew Kalman - October 10, 2012 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority, facing a major cash crisis, has warned 150,000 employees it does not know when they will receive their September salaries.

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