A PALESTINIAN VIEW Dialogue fosters moderation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) May 9, 2011 - 12:00am

While examining the possible consequences of the reconciliation agreement between Fateh and Hamas, it is important to understand that Hamas is like any other political entity: it includes within its ranks different tendencies. These, in turn, can be developed or stunted, creating moderation or radicalization.

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A PALESTINIAN VIEW An opportunity for Hamas moderation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Mkhaimar Abu Sada - (Opinion) May 9, 2011 - 12:00am

The signing of the reconciliation agreement between Fateh and Hamas can be considered a golden opportunity for the Palestinian people and their cause. Four years have passed since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in June 2007 after violent clashes with its rival Fateh. Four years of political split and two governments, one led by Fateh in the West Bank and the other one led by Hamas in Gaza. Four years of incitement, hatred, imprisonment and torture of political opponents.

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AN ISRAELI VIEW Hamas has not turned the corner on Israel and violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) May 9, 2011 - 12:00am

The signing of the Fateh-Hamas reconciliation agreement last week provided us with a host of policy statements by Hamas leaders that could conceivably shed light on the likelihood of the agreement actually reaching fruition. Some may be tempted to see in them an indication of creeping moderation. But overall, the circumstances point to negative prospects.

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INTERVIEW-Hamas's Meshaal urges West to back Palestinian deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Yasmine Saleh - May 8, 2011 - 12:00am

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal urged the United States and the European Union on Sunday to support a reconciliation deal that ended a four-year rift with Fatah, saying the accord was the Palestinian people's choice. Meshaal told Reuters in an interview that the issue of Palestinian recognition of Israel could only be addressed after an independent state was set up in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "The international position, especially that of the Europeans and the Americans, is still unclear but we hope they respect our will and decision," Meshaal said.

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Abbas: national unity best way to peacemaking
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 8, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that national unity is the best way to make comprehensive peace and achieve the two-state solution. "We are ready to resume peace negotiations if the Israeli government accepts the peace references and halts settlement construction," Palestinian official WAFA news agency quoted Abbas as saying. Abbas statements came during his meeting in Ramallah with the members of the Jewish-American J Street pro-peace advocacy group.

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Palestinian unity has cast Netanyahu adrift
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) May 8, 2011 - 12:00am

As though he were a bereaved father, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making the rounds around the world trying to wrest condolences. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he laments, is now lost to him. Actually, Bibi is not really emitting a feeling of mourning; instead, it's more like the anger of someone who has been betrayed by a partner he always claimed never to have, a cunning partner who had seemed weak and dependent, as though his life had been controlled by Netanyahu.

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Hamas chief: We will coordinate all decisions regarding Israel with Fatah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
May 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Hamas leader Khaled Meshal said Saturday that his movement will make all decisions regarding the struggle against Israel, including if and when to use violence, in coordination with the West Bank leading faction Fatah, The Wall Street Journal reported. Speaking from Cairo, just days after the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation agreement was signed, Meshal said that the best way to achieve their goals was through agreement with the Palestinian Authority lead by President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Palestinian factions begin groundwork for political unification
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - May 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Now that the unity accord has been signed, Hamas, its new friends in Fatah and a dozen other Palestinian factions must begin laying the groundwork for political reunification. The first test facing the former enemies will be forming an interim government that the agreement says will be run by politically independent "technocrats". They are supposed to govern the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and Fatah-run West Bank until there are national elections in a year or less.

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Drive for Palestinian Unity Exposes Fractured Society
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - May 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Louai Faisal, 27, a Palestinian resident of this West Bank city long considered a Hamas stronghold, has spent three periods in Israeli prisons, starting in 2003 when he was sentenced to two and a half years as a would-be suicide bomber for Hamas. More recently, he has spent three terms in Palestinian Authority prisons in the West Bank, arrested each time by a different security apparatus, he said, and interrogated because he was suspected of belonging to Hamas. The latest detention lasted six weeks and ended in March.

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J-Street urges trial period for Palestinian coalition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Shefler - May 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The policies of the PA’s prospective Fatah-Hamas government towards Israel should be tested before it is condemned, J Street head Jeremy Ben-Ami said on Thursday in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. Adopting a strategy that would avoid any “precipitous” policies could turn out to be beneficial for the peace process, he said.s “Jumping out to say either this is a terrible thing or good thing is in our opinion not the wisest move, and the real question is, what this new alignment really going to stand for and what is it going to do, and that we don’t know,” he said.

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