Abbas says France backs his reconciliation plan with Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 22, 2011 - 12:00am

Visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday his reconciliation plan with Hamas has won support from French President Nicolas Sarkozy during their meeting at the Elysee Palace. Abbas said he told Sarkozy he would go to the Gaza Strip to meet Hamas leaders in a bid to establish a coalition government and choose a proper date for elections. The plans were backed by the French leader, he said. In March, Abbas had said he was willing to accept Hamas leader Ismail Haneya's invitation to visit Gaza.

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Abbas: UN rejection of statehood could be dangerous
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday his reconciliation plan with Hamas has won support from French President Nicolas Sarkozy during their meeting at the Elysee Palace. Abbas said he told Sarkozy he would go to the Gaza Strip to meet Hamas leaders in a bid to establish a coalition government and choose a proper date for elections. The plans were backed by the French leader, he said. In March, Abbas had said he was willing to accept Hamas leader Ismail Haneya's invitation to visit Gaza.

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Fatah: Door remains open for Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 20, 2011 - 12:00am

The head of Fatah’s unity delegation said Tuesday that the party would "keep the door open" for Hamas to sign a unity deal, despite the expected announcement of a newly appointed Palestinian Authority cabinet next week. Speaking with Ma'an the day after President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters that a new PA cabinet would be formed, Azzam Al-Ahmad said the move would come on Abbas' return from Paris at the end of the week.

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Netanyahu slams Palestinian unity efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed Palestinian unity efforts, saying national Palestinian reconciliation would be the end of the peace process with Israel. In a CNN interview broadcast Thursday, Netanyahu compared Hamas to Al-Qaeda, and said the Palestinian Authority could not be "for peace with Israel and peace with Hamas that calls for our destruction." In the midst of mass youth protests demanding national unity in the West Bank and Gaza, President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday he would accept an invitation from Hamas leaders to go to Gaza and hold talks.

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Practical arrangements underway for Abbas visit to Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 18, 2011 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday instructed Civil Affairs chairman Hussein Al-Sheikh to make logistical arrangements for his visit to Gaza as quickly as possible. Abbas also asked Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh to make arrangements to receive him at Erez border crossing in the coming days. The president said Wednesday that he was ready to hold unity talks with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in the midst of massive youth protests across the West Bank and Gaza demanding an end to the division.

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Abbas asks for Israeli permission to head for Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday asked for an urgent Israeli permission to head for the Gaza Strip for the first time in more than three years, the PNA presidency office said. The Palestinian presidency said that Abbas ordered the Palestinian Civil Affairs Ministry, which oversees daily coordination with Israel, to prepare for his visit to Gaza as soon as possible.

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Fayyad calls on Hamas to accept Abbas' initiative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
March 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad Thursday urged Hamas to accept President Mahmoud Abbas’ initiative for reconciliation, Palestinian media reported. Abbas said Wednesday he was “ready to go to Gaza tomorrow” to end the division between Fatah and Hamas, after the Islamist group’s prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, urged “immediate” talks. Abbas also said he wanted to “form a government of independent national figures to start preparing for … polls within six months.”

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Independents pave way for Abbas in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 17, 2011 - 12:00am

A group of independent Palestinian political figures announced Thursday that preparations were going forward to receive President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza for what could be the turning point in Palestinian unity efforts. Coalition leader Yasser Al-Wadieh said urgent consultations had been made to prepare the ground for Abbas' arrival, though officials in Ramallah have yet to confirm a date for the trip.

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Gaza groups call on Hamas to probe attacks on peaceful rallies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Gaza-based rights groups on Wednesday called on Islamic Hamas movement's government that rules the Gaza Strip to probe its police's violent attacks against peaceful rallies in Gaza on Tuesday. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank had witnessed on Tuesday massive popular rallies that called on Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah party to end their internal division and reach a reconciliation agreement.

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News Analysis: Hamas-Fatah disputes obstruct Abbas' initiative to visit Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly - March 17, 2011 - 12:00am

The positive atmosphere, created by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' initiative to Gaza and the welcome from the Islamic Hamas movement, was not enough to achieve its goal and end the current division. Hamas said in a press statement that it welcomes Abbas declaration to visit Gaza, however, it did not show any positive position concerning Abbas' goal of forming a transitional independent government that prepares for holding general elections within six months.

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