Israel wary of change in security arrangements with PA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Hanan Greenberg - April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian factions' reconciliations has Israel concerned for many reasons, but one of the major ones is the now-questionable continuation of the collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian security forces in the West Bank. "The work vis-à-vis Palestinian security forces is very effective, and serves both parties well," military sources told Ynet Thursday. "Any change to this delicate relationship would lead to a significant change in the West Bank and will mandate the IDF change its deployment in the area."

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Hamas has taken over the Palestinian nationalist movement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian reconciliation deal, if realized, heralds the takeover of the Palestinian national movement by Hamas, providing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an escape from the rut he has fallen into because of the deadlock in the peace process. This is just what Netanyahu needed to unite the Israeli public behind him and thwart international pressure to withdraw from the West Bank.

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No partner
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

‘There will be no dialogue with these murderers,” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said back in June 2007, referring to Hamas. “There will be no dialogue with the forces of darkness.” Abbas made these remarks shortly after Hamas, in a bloody coup, had seized control of the Gaza Strip. It was also a few months after an assassination attempt against him, which he said was engineered by Hamas. Now the same Hamas members whom he once correctly referred to as “murderous terrorists” are to become Abbas’s colleagues in a “national unity” government.

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Palestinian reconciliation could work to Israel's advantage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Fatah and Hamas announced in Cairo on Wednesday that they had agreed to a reconciliation agreement, ending four years of feuding between the Palestinian factions. The historic deal was greeted cooly in Jerusalem. In an about-face, Hamas said that it would sign the agreement, which was drafted by the Egyptians and signed by Fatah in October 2009. The agreement calls for a setting up a caretaker government of technocrats, and for holding presidential, parliamentary and National Palestinian Council elections within a year.

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Israel rejects Palestinian government with Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Aron Heller - April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel's foreign minister warned on Thursday that Israel will not negotiate with a new Palestinian unity government that includes the Hamas militant group. Avigdor Lieberman spoke a day after rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah reached a unity deal in Cairo to end their five year long dispute. For the Palestinians, the Egyptian-brokered deal revived hopes of ending their bitter infighting that weakened them politically and caused the deaths of hundreds in violent clashes and crackdowns.

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Palestinian Unity Raises New Problems as It Solves Others
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - (Opinion) April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

The memorandum signed by the Fatah and Hamas movements on Wednesday, aimed at ending a four-year-old political division, creates as many problems as it solves, experts warned.

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Senior Hamas leader: Interim Palestinian government not able to work on peace with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas leader who participated in the reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas, said on Wednesday that the interim Palestinian government would not be able to work on peace negotiations with Israel. The rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas came to a historic agreement on Wednesday, when they announced a decision to reconcile and form an interim government ahead of elections, after a four-year feud. Both sides hailed the agreement as a chance to start a fresh page in their national history.

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Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad must go, Hamas insists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Conal Urquhart - April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Hamas has insisted on the departure of Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister favoured by Israel and the west, under a deal agreed with its rival faction Fatah for a unity government, according to sources in Gaza. The Islamist organisation also said it would keep control of the Gaza Strip under the accord, which is expected to be formally signed by leaders of the two factions in Cairo next week. The plan drew further criticism on Thursday from Israel, which has said it would not deal with a Palestinian government that included members of Hamas.

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Daley on Hamas-Fatah—is there an opening to US recognition?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - (Blog) April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

President Obama's chief of staff, William Daley, is the top administration official addressing the American Jewish Committee's annual conference. This is what he just said about Hamas-Fatah reconciliation: "We all have seen the news of the agreement between Fatah and Hamas to form a government. Like the Israeli government, we are seeking more information." The United States always supported Palestinian unity, he then said, "providing it is on the terms which advance the cause of peace. Hamas is a terrorist government which targets civillians."

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Palestinian unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

The news that the two main Palestinian movements, Fatah and Hamas, have agreed to work together in a government of national unity ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections in both the West Bank and Gaza is cause for celebration in these uncertain times. Ever since the two turned on each other five years ago, running competing administrations in the two territories, there has been no chance of a settlement with Israel. That may not have always been blindingly apparent. Under both George W.

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