Principles at the foundation of a Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Opinion) March 1, 2011 - 1:00am

The West Bank has had an important anchor as a wave of protests and leaks has washed over the region: the Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad's principled and pragmatic approach to state-building. Memos leaked from the Palestinian Authority's negotiations with the Israelis forced top-ranking officials in the West Bank to resign. Other leaders were caught flat-footed as protests reached cities in the West Bank. So much has changed in recent months - not, however, Mr Fayyad's plans for Palestinian statehood, nor their merits.

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Hamas demands PLO reform ahead of reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Hamas said on Tuesday that achieving national reconciliation requires the reform of Palestine Liberation Organization. "Any speech on reconciliation is useless without the reform of the PLO and the Palestinian National Council," said Yousef Rizka, an aide to Hamas leader Ismail Haneya in Gaza. He called on the heads of PLO's factions to start the reform immediately. Hamas is not represented in the PLO, which is dominated by the Fatah party of Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Fatah sets new standards for cabinet selection
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 28, 2011 - 1:00am

The Fatah party's top governing body announced Sunday that it had set standards for the selection of cabinet ministers as freshly appointed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad continues consultations ahead of announcing a new line-up. While the Fatah party holds power in the West Bank, it has no jurisdiction over policy, and it remains unclear to what extent the announced standards will be adopted by Fayyad, an independent, who was tasked by Fatah leader and President Mahmoud Abbas to form a new Palestinian Authority cabinet.

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Guest post: Salam Fayyad's Facebook outreach
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Erica Silverman - February 28, 2011 - 1:00am

With Internet-organized protest movements sweeping the Arab world, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is trying his hand at social networking by posting a request on his Facebook page aimed at young Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, asking for suggestions as to who should fill the seats of the new cabinet that he must form in less than six weeks. "We appreciate the role of the youth and their participation in making this decision, they play a major role in our march toward freedom," said Fayyad.

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A major factor for governments
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - February 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinians’ and Israelis’ response to the uprisings across the Arab world has been deafening silence at the people’s power level. When I asked Palestinian friends celebrating the dozen or so “revolutions” boiling in this region why Palestinians living under the repressive Israeli occupation are not out in the streets, they shrugged, saying they are “tired”.

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Fayyad tours Ramallah refugee camps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Salam Fayyad continued Tuesday his consultations to form a new government; meeting with representatives of the refugee camp popular committees and representatives of the private sector. Fayyad affirmed in a statement that the PA exerts tremendous efforts to develop the services and standard of living of the residents in the camps in a manner that meets with their natural right in a dignified life without exempting UNRWA from its political and legal responsibilities to care for the Palestinian refugees.

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Young Seek to End West Bank and Gaza Schism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Isabel Kershner - February 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Young Palestinians watching the revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere in the region have no shortage of their own protest-worthy causes. Palestinian youths took to the streets of Ramallah in the West Bank to call for unity between Hamas and Fatah.

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Young Seek to End West Bank and Gaza Schism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - February 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Young Palestinians watching the revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere in the region have no shortage of their own protest-worthy causes. Palestinian youths took to the streets of Ramallah in the West Bank to call for unity between Hamas and Fatah.

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Fayyad asks Facebook: Who to be in govt?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 23, 2011 - 1:00am

As young people across the Middle East are using Facebook and Twitter to bring down governments, appointed Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has asked his followers on both sites to help put one together. "In the light of the ongoing consultations aiming to form a government list, which people do you consider credible, have excellent leadership and scientific skills, and can be reliable to hold a ministerial portfolio," Fayyad asked on his Facebook page shortly before noon on Wednesday.

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Hamas pours scorn on Fatah call for unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
February 22, 2011 - 1:00am

Hamas on Monday shrugged off calls for reconciliation with Fatah, saying its secular rival must prove its seriousness by freeing prisoners. "These declarations lack seriousness and credibility, they make no sense in light of the continued arrests and torture [of Hamas members] in Fatah prisons in the West Bank," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, in response to an appeal by Fatah for the two factions to start talking.

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