Gaza Christians, Hamas at Odds Over Conversions to Islam
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Saleh Jadallah - July 27, 2012 - 12:00am

The recent conversion of Palestinian Christians to Islam has sparked tensions between Hamas, the Islamist group ruling the Gaza Strip, and the Christian minority here. Both publicly traded barbs for the first time since Hamas took over Gaza Strip from its rival, Fatah, after the 2006 parliamentary elections.

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Salam Fayyad: 'We have never been more marginalised'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - (Opinion) July 26, 2012 - 12:00am

The cause of the Palestinians has never been more "marginalised" than it is today, according to a warning by their internationally respected Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

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Abbas: Bid for UN recognition to be decided on Sept. 6
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 26, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday announced that the Arab League will decide on September 6, the date for applying to the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state.

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Sources: Fayyad sues lawmaker
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 26, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is suing a Palestinian lawmaker who claimed the premier had enlisted a British firm to provide his security, Ma'an learned Wednesday.

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Palestinian cash crisis getting worse: minister
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Karin Laub - July 26, 2012 - 12:00am

The cash-strapped Palestinian self-rule government is finding it harder each month to stay afloat, its finance minister said in an interview Thursday. The Palestinian Authority is struggling with its worst financial crisis in years, in part because key donor countries, including the U.S. and some Arab states, have so far not sent aid they promised for 2012.

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In shift by Egypt, president meets Hamas leader
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Tom Perry - July 26, 2012 - 12:00am

Gaza Islamist leader Ismail Haniyeh met Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi on Thursday in an official visit that signalled a big shift in Cairo's stance toward the Hamas movement after the election of a Muslim Brotherhood head of state in Egypt. A Palestinian official said the head of Egyptian intelligence had promised measures to increase the flow of fuel supplied by Qatar to Gaza via Egypt and needed to ease the small Palestinian territory's power shortages. The sides had also discussed increasing the flow of Palestinians across the border.

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Debate Aversion Therapy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) July 26, 2012 - 12:00am

The one thing almost all observers agree on is that progress towards realizing a two-state solution is on indefinite hold for the foreseeable future. This means we are facing an open-ended interregnum that all parties can use to seriously debate their options and to act unilaterally to either promote or obstruct peace.

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Latest Target For Palestinians' Protest? Their Leader
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR)
by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro - July 26, 2012 - 12:00am

The Kalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank is best known as a flashpoint between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces. Images of masked youths throwing rocks by the painted concrete wall here are ubiquitous. Protesters gathered at Kalandia again last week, but their focus wasn't Israeli soldiers: It was Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Hamas Rising
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Jonathan Schanzer - (Opinion) July 25, 2012 - 12:00am

Countries across the Middle East are opening their coffers to support the Palestinian cause -- but the funds are increasingly being diverted in a direction that portends renewed conflict with Israel.

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Ramallah violence 'unjustified,' inquiry concludes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 24, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- A committee to probe violence against protesters in Ramallah last month has concluded that attacks on civilians, including journalists, were unjustified, an official said Tuesday. Wasel Abu Yousif told Ma'an that President Mahmoud Abbas has received the report from the committee, which was formed by Munib al-Musri and included Abu Yousif, a PLO leader, and Ahmad Harb of the Independent Commission for Human Rights.

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