Report: Hamas, Fatah say progress in Cairo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Fatah and Hamas officials say talks in Cairo to work out the details of reconciliation have so far been positive, Egyptian media reported Tuesday. Officials did not say who was being considered for posts in the new technocrat government being created, but said the new administration would be in place "soon," the Cairo-based newspaper Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat reported.

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Report: Hamas, Fatah say progress in Cairo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Fatah and Hamas officials say talks in Cairo to work out the details of reconciliation have so far been positive, Egyptian media reported Tuesday. Officials did not say who was being considered for posts in the new technocrat government being created, but said the new administration would be in place "soon," the Cairo-based newspaper Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat reported.

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Hamas, Fatah agree to hold simultaneous municipal polls
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Hamas and Fatah decided to hold municipal elections in the Palestinian territories after agreeing on postponing their date, a Palestinian official said Thursday. This decision came after the two movements suddenly reached an initial agreement for reconciliation in Cairo earlier this month. Azzam Al-Ahmad, a Fatah official, said that his movement and Hamas agreed to demand the upcoming technocratic government, which they will form according to the Cairo agreement, to postpone the elections so they are held simultaneously in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

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PA-Israel joint security may be first victim of Fatah-Hamas pact
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - May 11, 2011 - 12:00am

The security agencies of the Palestinian Authority have been praised for fostering stability and prosperity by helping dismantle the West Bank's armed militias and networks of Hamas fighters. But an element to their success - coordination with Israel's security establishment - may be in jeopardy after Fatah, the West Bank's dominant Palestinian faction, and Hamas agreed to a deal designed to lead to a unity government.

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World watches to see how far Hamas will compromise in peace with Fatah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - May 10, 2011 - 12:00am

The landmark reconciliation deal reached last week by the Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas required compromises on both sides, but none more so than by the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip. Reflecting on the deal that brought their four-year rift to an end, Khaled Meshaal, the Damascus-based leader of Hamas, said afterward that his side had conceded autonomy on "how to manage the resistance". The use of violence - along with negotiations with Israel, domestic governance and foreign affairs - will now require Fatah's approval, Mr Meshaal told The Wall Street Journal.

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World watches to see how far Hamas will compromise in peace with Fatah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - May 10, 2011 - 12:00am

The landmark reconciliation deal reached last week by the Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas required compromises on both sides, but none more so than by the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip. Reflecting on the deal that brought their four-year rift to an end, Khaled Meshaal, the Damascus-based leader of Hamas, said afterward that his side had conceded autonomy on "how to manage the resistance". The use of violence - along with negotiations with Israel, domestic governance and foreign affairs - will now require Fatah's approval, Mr Meshaal told The Wall Street Journal.

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A Fatah-Hamas Deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) May 9, 2011 - 12:00am

Ultimately, a successful Palestinian state will need to have all its people, from both the West Bank and Gaza, working together to build a stable and prosperous future. The recent agreement between the two main factions — Fatah, which leads the Palestinian Authority and has committed to peace with Israel, and Hamas, which has committed to Israel’s destruction — is not the answer.

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Fatah-Hamas pact called new chance for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - May 9, 2011 - 12:00am

The reconciliation pact signed last week by the Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas was denounced by Israel and has left Washington weighing its response, but Palestinian mediators who helped broker the deal say it opens new opportunities for a resumption of peace talks. The accord, which provides for the formation of a transitional government of technocrats to prepare for elections in a year, also sets a goal that Fatah and Hamas say they share: a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with a capital in Jerusalem, next to Israel.

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Pro & Con: Should the U.S. support the Hamas-Fatah unity agreement?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Atlanta Journal Constitution
by Jimmy Carter - (Opinion) May 9, 2011 - 12:00am

This is a decisive moment. Palestine’s two major political movements — Fatah and Hamas — have signed a reconciliation agreement that will permit both to contest elections for the presidency and legislature within a year. If the U.S. and the international community support this effort, they can help Palestinian democracy and establish the basis for a unified Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza that can make a secure peace with Israel. If they remain aloof or undermine the agreement, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory may deteriorate with new violence against Israel.

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Asharq Al-Awsat talks to Hamas's Izzat al-Rishq
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Sawsan Abu-Husain - (Interview) May 9, 2011 - 12:00am

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat- According to Dr. Izzat al-Rishq, member of the Hamas Movement's Political Bureau, the Palestinian factions that signed the Cairo agreement are in continuous meetings to complete the discussion of all issues as soon as possible. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, he added that many meetings were held in Cairo both before and after the signing in order to take practical steps on the ground to show the Palestinian people that the agreement is not just ink on paper but rather a continuous action to restore the legitimate Palestinian rights.

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