Abbas's mixed messages
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) November 9, 2009 - 1:00am

The recent announcement by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas that he would not seek a second term in office or run in elections has prompted considerable speculation, even confusion, around the world. His decisions contains much ambiguity while conveying different messages to different parties at the same time.

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Poll finds support for Hamas dropping, most support elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Bethlehem - Ma’an - Palestinians have flip-flopped in their support for Hamas, which spiked markedly following Israel’s war on Gaza last winter, a poll from the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion said.

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No obvious successor: An interview with Said Zeidani
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
(Interview) November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

bitterlemons: In the past week we've twice heard reports that Mahmoud Abbas is considering not running for re-election. How serious do you think this is? Zeidani: As far as Abu Mazen [Abbas] personally is concerned, I don't think he is interested in another term. He has expressed his desire to step down and I think he is sincere. The question is whether he will be allowed by his own Fateh faction to do so. I think there will be pressure on him to stay and run for another term. bitterlemons: Why?

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Palestinians who see nonviolence as their weapon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard Boudreaux - November 4, 2009 - 1:00am

Every Friday, Mohammed Khatib's forces assemble for battle with the Israeli army and gather their weapons: a bullhorn, banners -- and a fierce belief that peaceful protest can bring about a Palestinian state. A few hundred strong, they march to the Israeli barrier that separates the tiny farming community of Bilin from much of its land. They chant and shout. A few teenagers throw stones. Khatib helped launch the weekly ritual five years ago in an attempt to "re-brand" a Palestinian struggle often associated with rocket attacks and suicide bombers.

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Personality of the Month: Dr. Salam Fayyad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from This Week in Palestine
November 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Born in Nablus in 1952, Dr. Salam Fayyad remembers his early school years in Tulkarem, when doing well at school was not the main thing (as it continues to be today), it was the only thing. Well, almost the only thing. Back then, after-school street football was also a daily routine and a prominent item on his agenda.

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Jerusalem artists go underground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
November 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Jerusalem has played host to a two-day arts festival with a difference as part of Palestinian attempts to celebrate the city's year of being Capital of Arab Culture. The BBC Arabic Service correspondent in the city, Ahmad Budeiri, joined the audience. A group of about 100 specially invited guests gathered at Jerusalem's Damascus Gate for the evening's programme to begin.

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Palestinian revolutionary dies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - November 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Sakher Habash, the Palestinian revolutionary and intellectual who died on Sunday after a stroke aged 70, devoted the greater part of his life to the Palestinian struggle. Known by his nom de guerre Abu Nizar, Habash was a founding member of the Fatah Party and although he supported the Oslo process of talks with Israel in the mid-1990s, he never rejected armed resistance. Violence, he argued, was a legitimate way for Palestinians to struggle for their rights. To the end, like his lifelong compadre Yasser Arafat, Habash donned the revolutionary uniform.

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Palestinian workers: We're being treated like cattle
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Daniel Edelson - November 3, 2009 - 1:00am

The 4,500 Palestinian workers who travel through the Eyal checkpoint, near West Bank city of Qalqilya, on their way to work in Israel, are finding it hard to enjoy the long-awaited winter. The checkpoint provides cover for those waiting to cross it, but its little shed can shelter about 100 people at the most, leaving the rest exposed to rain and cold winds. "I usually like the winter, but why do we have to stand here like this?" wondered Majid Nazal, a construction worker who crosses the checkpoint daily.

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Israel releases Hamas MP
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
November 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel on Sunday released Hamas Member of Parliament Hatem Qafisha after a year in detention, allowing him to return to his home in the West Bank city of Hebron. The 49-year-old Palestinian was greeted by members of his family and officials of the Islamist movement Hamas, including Parliament Speaker Aziz Duwaik. Duwaik himself was only released in June after spending three years in Israeli prison, while Qafisha has spent a total of 10 years behind bars in several stints.

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‘Fayyad’s Two Year Plan is a Very Smart Move’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Felice Friedson - (Interview) November 2, 2009 - 1:00am

James L. Wolfensohn, a former head of The World Bank, served as the first Mideast envoy of the Quartet, the entities sponsoring the Road Map peace plan: the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia. While Mr. Wolfensohn’s experience and reputation in world finance is unparalleled, his service as the Quartet’s first envoy provides an expertise very few can match. He speaks with Felice Friedson, President and CEO of The Media Line.

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