Ousted patriarch behind locked doors in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Josh Lederman - January 6, 2011 - 1:00am

Six years ago, Irineos I was the patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem with about 100,000 followers. Today, he sits behind locked doors in his Old City apartment, claiming he has been imprisoned by the successor who ousted him in a dispute over sale of church land to Israelis. The only way Irineos could speak to The Associated Press Thursday was through a wireless microphone hoisted at the end of a rope to his roof — in the same black shopping bag supporters use nightly to deliver him groceries.

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Fall of Palestinian leader shows president's power
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - January 5, 2011 - 1:00am

Not long ago, Mohammed Dahlan was a rising political star, a Gaza security chief and darling of the West. He advised the Palestinian president and was even considered a possible successor. But after a falling out with President Mahmoud Abbas, Dahlan has been essentially banished from the political scene. The campaign against him casts an unflattering light on the Palestinian president's low tolerance for dissent as peace talks with Israel falter.

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Dahlan’s Non-Coup
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Council On Foreign Relations
by Elliott Abrams - (Blog) January 5, 2011 - 1:00am

News reports in the last two weeks have made public the turmoil inside Fatah related to Mohammed Dahlan, now alleged to have plotted to overthrow PA President Abbas. Dahlan is a Gazan who was once in charge of Fatah’s security organizations. In that capacity he visited the White House often; in my own years at the NSC, I have must have met with him in Washington or in Ramallah a dozen times. Back when Mahmoud Abbas became Palestinian prime minister in 2003, and again when he became President in 2005, Dahlan was a key figure.

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Fatah strongman Dahlan denies plot to overthrow Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - January 4, 2011 - 1:00am

Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan has denied accusation that he had been plotting a military coup to unseat Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Al-Hayat daily reported on Tuesday. Palestinian Authority security forces questioned the Fatah Central Committee member on Sunday over a recent spat with Abbas and requested that he leave for Amman. Dahlan denied allegations that he attempted to overthrow Abbas or that he had been harboring weapons and told Al-Hayat that the investigation was essentially a "non-story".

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Abbas suspends Dahlan from Fatah over 'coup plot'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Wyre Davies - January 4, 2011 - 1:00am

A senior figure in the Palestinian Fatah movement has denied plotting an internal coup to remove President Mahmoud Abbas. Mohammed Dahlan has been suspended from Fatah's central committee pending an investigation into the allegations, which he describes as "fantastical". There are increasing divisions in the movement, which runs the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank. Mr Dahlan was Fatah's security chief in Gaza before Hamas took over in 2007.

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Hamas: PA detained 3,000 members in 2010
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 3, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian Authority security forces detained 3,000 Hamas affiliates in the West Bank in 2010, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Sunday. At a press conference in Gaza City, Barhoum said 1,404 of those detained by PA forces had served time in Israeli jails, 49 were prominent Hamas leaders, 49 Imams of mosques, 405 university students and 24 professors. Those imprisoned also included 36 journalists, 12 businessmen, five pharmacists, seven women and 12 school children, he added.

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Palestinian mayor presides over boom times in Ramallah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - (Interview) December 25, 2010 - 1:00am

The recent groundbreaking for a new Palestinian Authority presidential headquarters here in Ramallah underscored an unprecedented building and investment boom in the West Bank city. Land prices have tripled. International hotel chains are arriving. And master-planned housing projects are underway around town to accommodate a fast-rising population.

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PA Cabinet: Setting new date for local elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 22, 2010 - 1:00am

The appointed government cabinet said Monday that it intended to enforce last week's Supreme Court decision which called the decision to postpone municipal elections illegal, and mandated that new elections be held immediately. "In accordance with the law," a statement following the regular Tuesday cabinet meeting said, ministers "discussed the required procedures for setting a new date to hold the elections," and appointed the Minister of Local Government "to provide an integrated visualization to the Cabinet in this regard."

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Fatah: Would never ask occupation for help
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Israeli general intelligence chief Yuval Diskin perjured himself during a June 2007 meeting with US officials, Fatah leaders said in a statement on Tuesday, after comments made by the chief were revealed by WikiLeaks. One day after leaked cables were made public by WikiLeaks, of a meeting between Diskin and US officials where the former told diplomats that following the Hamas take over of Gaza, Fatah officials had asked for Israeli assistance to "attack Hamas," noting he believed the party left ruling the West Bank was "desperate."

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PA suspects former Fatah strongman in Gaza recruiting for new armed militia
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - December 17, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian Authority security forces recently questioned Fatah activists on suspicion they had been recruited to form an armed militia, sources in the Fatah movement said. The PA indicated Fatah Central Committee member Mohammed Dahlan had done the recruiting for the militia, which he also intended to command. The suspects were summoned for questioning about their ties to Dahlan and whether they received instructions or funds from him in connection with the purchase of weapons. They were then released.

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