Internal Palestinian Politics | The American Task Force on Palestine

PA should delay UN statehood bid, says PLO official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh, Herb Keinon - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Nabil Amr calls on Palestinian leadership to delay statehood plan by a year out of fear it will harm relations with US and EU. The Palestinian Authority leadership has climbed a very high tree with its plan to ask the UN to recognize a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines in September, Nabil Amr, member of the PLO Central Council and a former PA minister, said on Tuesday. “The leadership does not have any guarantees that it would be able to climb down safely from the tree,” he cautioned, advising the PA to delay the statehood by another year.

Veteran Palestinian negotiator Erekat back after embarrassment of Al Jazeera revelations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - July 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Saeb Erekat is back. Only a few months ago, the veteran Palestinian negotiator and, thanks to satellite television, a worldwide face of the Palestinian struggle, resigned in embarrassment after documents leaked to Al Jazeera by an apparently disgruntled employee in his office portrayed him in a less-than-flattering light.

The Question of Barghouti: Is He a Mandela or an Arafat?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time
by Karl Vick - July 17, 2011 - 12:00am

In France, Marwan Barghouti is called "the Palestinian Nelson Mandela," an imprisoned militant turned bookworm who talks of peace when he gets out. In the West Bank and Gaza, many call him the heir to Yasser Arafat, so popular that polls routinely show him winning the presidency of the Palestinian Authority, even while he remains behind bars. Israelis know him as a mass murderer, serving five life sentences for sending suicide bombers to a Tel Aviv fish market and a Jerusalem mall.

Economy minister criticizes allegations of corruption
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 15, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- Palestinian Authority minister of economy Hassan Abu Libdeh has criticized reports linking names from his ministry with allegations of corruption. Abu Libdeh told Ma'an Thursday that he is ready to appear before an anti-corruption committee and answer any questions put forward regarding corruption charges, vowing to defend the work of his ministry. “I am ready to appear before anti-corruption committee everyday and not only in this issue but on any other issue for the forty years I have spent at public service,” he said.

Hamas: No Palestinian reconciliation if Fayyad remains PM
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Associated Press - July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

A senior Hamas official said a planned reconciliation with Fatah will be deeply threatened if the rival Palestinian movement insists Western-backed economist Salam Fayyad stays on as prime minister. President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah thinks keeping Fayyad as prime minister is key to maintaining the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars in Western aid. Hamas sees Fayyad as too close to the West. Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk was quoted Wednesday by the Palestinian daily Felesteen as saying Abbas' position is "unacceptable and unreasonable."

PNA lifts immunity for ministers over corruption inquiry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) lifted immunity for several ministers in a rare move aimed at investigating charges of corruption, a Palestinian official said Thursday. The PNA commission against corruption presented the names of some ministers to President Mahmoud Abbas who accepted to withdraw their immunity, said Rafiq Al-Natsha, the head of the commission.

PA: Efforts ongoing to overcome finance crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority cabinet asserted Tuesday that cooperation at a national level would overcome a financial crisis. During their weekly session in Ramallah, cabinet ministers, and premier Salam Fayyad, promised to do their best to overcome the crisis which has threatened the salaries of civil servants. They applauded banks and other institutions for being considerate to civil servants’ conditions.

Palestinians Unable to Pay Full Salaries of Employees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Khaled Abu Aker, Isabel Kershner - July 3, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority will pay its employees only half their monthly salaries in July, the prime minister told reporters here on Sunday, because of what he said was “the failure of donors, including our Arab brothers, to fulfill their pledges.” Prime Minister Salam Fayyad added that the salaries would be paid in full when the promised funds arrived.

Haniyeh: Reconciliation is progressing despite delays
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 1, 2011 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Thursday that progress is being made to implement the Palestinian reconciliation agreement "even if it is slow." Hamas and Fatah signed a unity agreement on May 4, ending years of hostility. However, a meeting in Cairo to finalize the formation of a unity government was postponed. Officials from both parties have said talks stalled over a leadership row. Hamas rejected Fatah's nomination of Salam Fayyad for the post of Prime Minister in the new government.

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