Abbas Extends a Hand
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Forward
(Editorial) September 22, 2010 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority have opened a new front in the Middle East conflict: a charm offensive. One can wonder why it has taken so long, yet welcome the move just the same.

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Meeting again with Jewish leaders, Abbas broaches substance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - September 22, 2010 - 12:00am

For Mahmoud Abbas and U.S. Jewish leaders, their second date featured a little more substance and a little less flirtation. And this time the Palestinian Authority president brought a wing man. Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, met separately Tuesday evening with Jewish leaders in New York -- a sign of understanding on the Palestinian side of the importance of Jewish sensibilities, in Israel and the Diaspora, to advancing the peace process.

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Hamas action to catch spies spreads panic in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Ibrahim Barzak - September 22, 2010 - 12:00am

A secretive Hamas campaign to catch Palestinians spying for Israel has ensnared some prominent Gaza residents, drawn unusual criticism and highlighted the Islamic militant group's deep fears about being penetrated by agents of the Jewish state. Though action against accused collaborators is always popular in Gaza and tensions are hardly new in the seaside strip — a crowded and impoverished place that endures a three-year blockade that has kept key supplies scarce and made travel out for most people virtually impossible — this time seems different.

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Rumors of Collaboration Leave Gazans Uneasy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - September 21, 2010 - 12:00am

The arrest of an unknown number of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and belligerent statements by Hamas officials have sparked rumors that many of the detainees could be charged with collaborating with Israel, a crime punishable by death. Human Rights activists and family members of some of the detained men told The Media Line that these detainees have virtually disappeared and haven’t been heard from in weeks.

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Killing of Hamas operative raises questions about conduct of elite Israeli units in pursuing militants
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - September 21, 2010 - 12:00am

IN NUR SHAMS REFUGEE CAMP, WEST BANK Moving quietly through the alleys of this ramshackle neighborhood, the Israeli soldiers forced their way into Iyad Abu Shilbaya's home in the early morning hours under cover of darkness. A Hamas operative who had been detained repeatedly by the Palestinian Authority and imprisoned for two years by Israel, Abu Shilbaya was one of more than a dozen people whose homes were raided during a sweep of arrests in the Nur Shams camp outside the town of Tulkarm on Friday.

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PA court: Sale of Palestinian land to Israelis is punishable by death
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
September 20, 2010 - 12:00am

The sale of Palestinian land to Israelis is punishable by death, a Palestinian Authority court ruled on Sunday, in what Palestinian officials are saying is a necessary measure to ensure the founding of a future state. Judge Ta'et At-Twil, according to a report by the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, ruled that selling, or attempting to sell, land to a foreign country was a criminal offense which could result in the death penalty.

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Hamas: Death sentence for drug dealers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - September 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Hamas approved a law permitting the death sentence for drug dealers and up to seven years behind bars for drug users, thereby stepping up its war on drugs in the Gaza Strip. Ministry of the Interior spokesman Ihab al-Rasin said Sunday that Hamas had in fact adopted an Egyptian law. Al-Rasin, speaking during a ceremony to mark the end of a three-month campaign against drugs, also accused Israel of "continuing its efforts to swamp the Strip with drugs."

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PA arrests Hamas men in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - September 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Ynet also learned Sunday that the Palestinian Authority carried out many preemptive arrests over the weekend after Hamas threatened to avenge the assassination of Iyad abu Shilbayeh by Israel. Among the detainees were members of Islamic Jihad. The PA held several meetings following the murder in order to prepare for Hamas' supposed retaliation, for fear that such a move would be especially desirable for the Islamist group due to the direct talks between the Palestinians and Israel.

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PA knows must keep talking even if freeze ends
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - (Analysis) September 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Despite the Palestinian Authority’s tough talk on the issue of settlement construction in the past few days, Palestinian sources in Ramallah believe PA leaders will soon have to climb down from their high tree. Even as the direct talks were under way in Sharm e-Sheikh on Tuesday, several PA officials continued to issue threats that failure to extend the moratorium on settlement construction later this month would lead to the “collapse” of the US-sponsored negotiations.

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Sha'ath: Key issues on Sharm agenda
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 14, 2010 - 12:00am

The second round of negotiations in Egypt will focus on land, borders and security, said member of the Palestinian negotiations team Nabil Sha'ath on Tuesday, as officials and leaders arrive in the coastal resort town ahead of talks. Sha'ath said reports that the talks in Sharm Ash-Sheikh will focus on Israel security matters solely were false, adding in a statement that "there is no security without the land and the borders and they know this very well."

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