The Wrath of Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Newsweek
by Dan Ephron - (Blog) April 25, 2011 - 12:00am

We're somewhere over the Mediterranean, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, is trying to get inside the head of Barack Obama. "We knew him before he became president," he's saying, struggling to understand what happened to the man who had seemed more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than any of his predecessors. "We knew him and he was very receptive." Around us, Abbas's closest aides are shuffling papers or typing on laptops, while his bodyguards lounge on long corduroy couches.

»

Palestinian Authority threatens to block international mail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by David Miller - April 21, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority will stop sending and receiving international mail beginning next month, a Palestinian minister has warned, asserting that Israel has failed to implement a 2008 agreement that would let the PA have direct postal relations with the rest of the world.

»

Parochial aims mar Palestinian elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Basem Ezbidi - (Opinion) April 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Rumors of Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks – whether in Cairo, Gaza or Istanbul – are once again rife. Driven by demonstrations calling for unity in Gaza and the West Bank, leaders of the two movements feel compelled to show readiness to break out of the cycle of contention that has held Palestinian politics hostage since 2007.

»

New political parties in Palestine - when?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) April 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Fateh, Hamas, PFLP, DFLP, Jihad Islami - these are some of the names of guerrilla movements that have dominated the Palestinian political scene. The modern Palestinian liberation movement began with various PLO factions; en route, it picked up Islamic anti-occupation movements. Each of these groupings has a military and a political wing. The public at large is often unable to distinguish between individuals and positions of the military and political wings.

»

Abbas: New PA cabinet within a week
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

A new Palestinian Authority cabinet will be announced within the week, President Mahmoud Abbas told interviewers on the Al-Arabiya satellite channel Monday, as he headed for Tunis to meet with its new transitional government. "Since Hamas did not respond positively, we cannot wait anymore," Abbas said over his earlier decision to postpone the reappointment of a cabinet, which he said was an attempt to buy time for a reconciliation effort between Fatah and Hamas.

»

The Palestinians’ mistake in seeking statehood from the U.N.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

In almost two decades of working on Arab-Israeli negotiations as a State Department adviser and negotiator, I’ve come up with more than my fair share of dumb ideas. But the notion Palestinians are cooking up, for U.N. action on Palestinian statehood this fall, takes dumb to a new level.

»

Palestinian FM does not expect resuming peace talks soon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Fares Akram, Chen Xu - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Al-Maliki on Wednesday said Israel's positions make the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians more difficult. In an interview with Xinhua, Al-Maliki said the Palestinians will seek recognition of their state from the United Nations as a response to the failure of the latest round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations.

»

Hamas denies report of Syria sponsoring inter-Palestinian dialogue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Damascus-based Palestinian Hamas ' politburo member Izzat al-Rishq said here on Tuesday that reports about Egypt's proposal for Syria to sponsor inter-Palestinian dialogue are not true. Al-Rishq told Xinhua via the phone that Egypt remains the official custodian of the reconciliation talks between the Palestinian Hamas and Fatah organizations. London-based Arab daily al-Hayat reported earlier the day that Egypt has suggested Syria to sponsor the reconciliation rounds between Fatah and Hamas.

»

Fatah investigates allegations on member sending arms to Libya
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 5, 2011 - 12:00am

Fatah party said in a statement on Tuesday that it is investigating allegations that one of its senior members has sent weapons to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. "These allegations are under investigation and the central committee will take suitable measures," Fatah's central committee said in its statement.

»

Hamas, Fatah met secretly in Gaza this week: official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 5, 2011 - 12:00am

Officials from rivalrous Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and the Islamic Hamas movement have met in the Gaza Strip this week in a renewed effort to reach reconciliation, a Hamas official said Tuesday. Ismail Al-Ashqar said representatives from the Hamas and the Fatah had discussed their views on the reconciliation and controversial issues obstructing the restoration of political unity between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the West Bank, where the Fatah-led Palestinian National Authority (PNA) holds sway.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017