Internal Palestinian Politics | The American Task Force on Palestine

Al-Ahmad: Abbas considering holding elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 31, 2011 - 1:00am

Senior Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmad said Sunday that President Mahmoud Abbas was looking into holding presidential and legislative elections despite the national division. Speaking at a press conference in Ramallah, Al-Ahmad said a meeting would be held Monday to discuss holding elections. Fatah would support a government decision to hold elections, he said. The PA called off elections in June 2010, just weeks ahead of a planned vote. Officials said the sudden decision stemmed from the refusal of Hamas officials in Gaza to partake in the vote, a decision taken as early as March.

For Palestinians, Egyptian Unrest Is Bittersweet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - January 31, 2011 - 1:00am

Ordinary people cheer on protestors, but Hamas and Fatah are both hesitant to take sides Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank expressed both hope and anxiety as unrest went into its seventh day in Egypt, a country that has acted as a lifeline to besieged Gaza and a patron to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank but also as the object of anger and resentment.

Fayyad set to take Al-Jazeera to court
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 27, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Justice announced Thursday that it was preparing to file a suit against Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news station for its role in the publication of documents that the ministry said "aimed at tarnishing the image" of the government. On Sunday, the news station, along with the London based The Guardian newspaper, began publishing reports on a set of 1,600 leaked documents said to be copies of maps, transcripts and communications from over a decade of negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials.

PA-controlled office in Gaza ransacked
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 27, 2011 - 1:00am

Unknown assailants entered the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority-controlled Civil Administration building in the northern Gaza Strip early Thursday morning, sacking the office, officials said. The Civil Administration, which in Gaza remains under the control of the West Bank Palestinian Authority government, is charged with coordinating with Israel on matters relating to the crossing terminals. The office targeted by the vandals was in charge of liaising with the Israeli Civil Administration office around the Erez crossing in the northern Strip.

Reality check shocks Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) January 27, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian cartoonist Khalil Abu Arafeh is no Fateh loyalist. In his early years, he supported the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. His brother Khaled was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council on the pro-Hamas Reform and Change List. Abu Arafeh’s political cartoons in the largest daily Al Quds are often seen as a reflection of the general mood of Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Hamas withdraws authorization of Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 26, 2011 - 1:00am

Hamas on Tuesday withdrew its authorization of President Mahmoud Abbas as the head of negotiations. Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya said Abbas' mandate was not valid without the party's recognition. He also dismissed the PA's claim that it negotiated on behalf of Palestinians. Hamas does not participate in talks with Israel. The move follows the release of secret PLO documents covering a decade of negotiations with Israel, leaked to the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera.

WEST BANK: Palestinian Authority versus Al Jazeera: Damage control seems to be working
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - (Blog) January 26, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority has mobilized its forces, hidden and otherwise, to head off serious fallout from the publication of secret negotiation documents leaked to Qatar's Al Jazeera. The satellite TV station has been broadcasting rigorous coverage and analysis of the leaked documents.

Studio used by Al Jazeera ransacked in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Sawafta - January 26, 2011 - 1:00am

Armed men damaged a studio used by Al Jazeera television in the West Bank on Wednesday, witnesses said, linking the attack to the channel's coverage of documents that have embarrassed Palestinian leaders. Four men carrying guns arrived at the studio in Nablus, operated by the Palestinian media company Palmedia, after Al Jazeera had used it to broadcast a live interview with a critic of the President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority (PA).

Defiant Abbas says he's on 'right path'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas returned to a hero's welcome in the West Bank on Tuesday, making his first public appearance at home since Al-Jazeera published embarrassing documents showing him making broad concessions to Israel in peace talks.

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