Poll: 2/3 of Palestinians against rocket attacks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

Some 68% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza do not want Hamas to resume its rocket attacks on Israel, while 25.5% believe the attacks against Israel's southern communities should be resumed, according to a survey conducted by the Ramallah-based Arab World for Research & Development (AWRAD) organization. The poll's findings, which are based on answers by 1,200 respondents, indicate that 35.4% of Palestinians residing in Hamas-ruled Gaza are interested in resuming the attacks, while only 19.5% of Palestinians in the West Bank share this opinion.

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Hamas welcomes PNA's decision to postpone municipal elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
June 11, 2010 - 12:00am

Islamic Hamas movement hailed on Thursday the decision of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to put off the municipal elections scheduled for next month. "It's a positive step to delay the elections," Gaza-based Hamas official Ismail Radwan told Xinhua. Radwan added that "any elections should be held under national consensus" mainly after achieving national unity between the Palestinian factions. Earlier on Thursday, the PNA decided to postpone the municipal elections that were scheduled to take place in July, but no new date for the polls has been set yet.

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Controversy over elections decision continues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 11, 2010 - 12:00am

Justifications and condemnations continue to pour in following the surprise announcement Thursday afternoon that municipal elections set for July would be canceled in the interest of Palestinian unity and an end to the Gaza blockade. Minister of Local Governance Kahled Al-Qauasmy weighed in late in the day, telling Ma’an Radio that the PA cabinet took the decision to delay the elections in light of the "updates on the international arena," and following requests from Arab states.

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Fayyad’s White Intifada
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Alex Fishman - (Opinion) March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

At this time, senior Palestinian figures no longer want the VIP cards issued by Israel to about 300 elected officials and heads of Palestinian security arms. These cards enable them, among other perks, to stay in their air-conditioned Mercedes and quickly pass through IDF roadblocks in the West Bank, while their people watch on angrily and enviously.

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Hamas Would Lose Elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Benjamin Joffe-Walt - February 18, 2010 - 1:00am

Survey finds Fatah to be 33% more popular than Hamas. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' party Fatah would crush their rivals Hamas were elections to be held today, a Palestinian survey has found. A survey conducted earlier this week in both the West Bank and Gaza and released Thursday found that 48 percent of voters would support Fatah were presidential elections held next week, while only 11 percent would vote for Hamas. 10 percent of respondents said they would vote for other Palestinian political parties and 31 percent said they were undecided or would not vote.

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Hamas boycotts meeting over municipal elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 12, 2010 - 1:00am

No members of the Hamas party attended the Thursday meeting of PLO factions alongside the elections committee to prepare for a June municipal vote across the West Bank and Gaza, Fatah General Elections Commissioner Muhammad Al-Madani said. Though Hamas is not part of the PLO, the party was invited to the meeting, Al-Madani said, to prepare for elections called by the Ramallah-based caretaker government on 2 February. The Palestinian Authority Cabinet, under appointed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, set the elections date for 17 July 2010.

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PA cabinet calls municipal, local elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The cabinet of the Ramallah-based government decided on Monday to hold municipal and local elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on 17 July 2010. Directives were given to the Palestinian Central Elections Committee to begin preparations.

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Haniyeh: Hamas isn't afraid of elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 2, 2010 - 1:00am

De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday that Hamas seeks national reconciliation and is not afraid of elections "because we came to move forward and take responsibility and we will not back down under any circumstances." His remarks came during a ceremony honoring Gaza Transportation Minister Usama Al-Isawy. Haniyeh pointed out that the transportation sector has developed in a variety of ways, including new parking standards and the removal of unregistered cars, which he said once threatened residents' safety.

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PA cabinet expresses 'regret' for not holding elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 27, 2010 - 1:00am

During its weekly cabinet meeting, chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad held on Monday, members said that elections could be held in June, if the Egyptian document is signed immediately. Cabinet members expressed regret for not holding presidential and legislative elections on the constitutionally set date. Members called for a swift national reconciliation that would allow for elections to be conducted, in accordance with the constitution as well as the Egyptian proposal, considering it the guarantee for protecting the Palestinian democratic system and national achievements.

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Palestinian parliament expires four years after Hamas electoral upset
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Erin Cunningham - January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Four years after Hamas won an upset victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, prompting swift international sanctions and a Western-led diplomatic boycott, the mandate for the parliament it dominated officially expired on Monday. According to the Palestinian Constitution, new parliamentary elections should have been held Sunday, Jan. 24, in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But continued political division between the West Bank, governed by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA), and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, has delayed the elections indefinitely.

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