Hamas/Fatah Reconciliation | The American Task Force on Palestine

Rattling the Cage: Abbas yes, Hamas no
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

As someone who wants the world to pressure Israel into ending the occupation, who hopes the UN recognizes Palestine in September, and who roots for Palestinian leaders Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad, I say their agreement Wednesday to form a unity government with Hamas was a blunder. It was a blunder even before Hamas leaders in Gaza denounced America’s killing of the “holy warrior” Osama bin Laden.

Fatah-Hamas deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

It is Netanyahu who must now choose between illegal settlements and peace ISRAELI Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to the Fatah-Hamas peace deal was to threaten Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, saying he needed to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas.

Israelis differ on Fatah-Hamas accord
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

An Israeli Foreign Ministry report leaked to Ha'aretz daily on Wednesday said the country could benefit from a Fatah-Hamas unity government, while Israeli officials continued to express their opposition to the internal Palestinian reconciliation deal. According to the document that was leaked to the Ha'aretz daily, "the Palestinian move is not only a security threat but also a strategic opportunity to create genuine change in the Palestinian context."

Washington Watch: Can this marriage of convenience survive?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by D. Bloomfield - (Opinion) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

If past Fatah-Hamas reconciliations are any indicator, this one will have the life expectancy of a fruit fly. No sooner did the secular Fatah try to sell the agreement as a move toward peace than the Islamist Hamas declared just the opposite.

Palestinian reconciliation and the missing questions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Bilal Hassen - (Opinion) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

The news of the Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas was welcomed by the Palestinian and Arab public. However this welcome was tinged with a sense of surprise. What happened to cause these two parties to reconcile this quickly, and indeed sign the Egyptian reconciliation document this quickly, particularly as Hamas previously rejected this agreement, demanding its amendment? What happened to cause Egypt to agree to make the amendments demanded by Hamas, although it long rejected this?

U.S. to Palestinians: Unity deal must advance prospect of peace with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

The White House on Wednesday urged Palestinians to ensure that a reconciliation deal between rival factions is implemented in a way that advances the prospect for peace with Israel rather than undermining it. "It's important now that Palestinians ensure implementation of that agreement in a way that advances the prospects of peace rather than undermines them," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, after the secular Fatah and Islamist Hamas groups signed an agreement to formally end a 4-year rift.

A Sliver of Hope Unites West Bank and Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram, Isabel Kershner - May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

Thousands of Palestinians, led by youth activists, have poured onto the streets of the West Bank and Gaza in recent months to demand national reconciliation. But when the leaders of the rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, signed a historic, if preliminary, agreement in Cairo on Wednesday to end a four-year schism and unify the two Palestinian territories, wariness and skepticism precluded any mass outpouring of joy.

Palestinian unity is an opportunity, not a threat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

The word “reconciliation” is so distant from the Middle Eastern reality that its use is taken as either a joke or threat. The signing ceremony in Cairo yesterday between Fatah and Hamas is likely to mark a turning point, not only for the concept, but also for the Palestinian and regional situation.

Palestinians optimistic on Hamas-Fatah unity deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

On the eve of a pact to reconcile the two leading Palestinian factions, Palestinians are optimistic that the Arab Spring may help mend a four-year split and strengthen their push for statehood. "The opinion of all Palestinians is to get united. It brings them a sense of power, and a sense of strength, and a sense of unity to be able to deal with Israel," says Bassem Ezbedi, a political science professor at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank. He acknowledged that there are "all sorts of obstacles," some of which could be "explosive."

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