Hamas and Dialogue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Ali Ibrahim - (Opinion) September 22, 2010 - 12:00am


It is not the first time that Hamas has announced its desire to begin dialogue with the United States. The only thing that is new this time is its' insistence. Hamas issued a statement confirming that it has sent a message to Barack Obama, via a US delegation that recently visited Gaza, inviting him to open direct dialogue with the group, and to remove what the group considers to be an American veto on Palestinian reconciliation.


Hamas: Fatah protecting enemy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
September 9, 2010 - 12:00am


Hamas threatened the Palestinian Authority Thursday after members of the organization were arrested in relation to terror attacks that killed four and injured two in the West Bank. "This criminal campaign has crossed all red lines and constitutes direct cooperation with the enemy, in the clear light of day," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. On Tuesday the Palestinian Authority announced it had arrested the six terrorists who carried out the attacks one week earlier – four shooters and two accomplices.


PA committed 'treason' in W.Bank terror suspects' arrests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
September 9, 2010 - 12:00am


Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority of "direct cooperation with the enemy" after it arrested Hamas members in conjunction with recent West Bank terrorist attacks that left four Israelis dead and two others injured last week, Army Radio reported Thursday. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum likened the arrests to "treason" and warned the Fatah run authority not to hand the men over to Israel. "The continuation of this criminal campaign crosses all red lines and is direct cooperation with the enemy in the clear light of day," Barhum continued.


Legitimize Hamas and kiss the PLO goodbye
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) September 6, 2010 - 12:00am


With the resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, numerous voices in the United States have been urging the inclusion of Hamas in international diplomacy, a focus on Palestinian unity, or some formal American outreach to the Palestinian Islamist group.


Mash'al: Talks will eliminate Palestinian cause
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 25, 2010 - 12:00am


Hamas leader in exile Khaled Mash'al said a return to direct negotiations with Israel was "nationally illegitimate, carried out by force and American summons," on Tuesday. Mash'al, speaking at an iftar dinner held for journalists in Damascus, said the PLO Executive Committee's decision to endorse the talks was "an echo of Washington's orders," adding that consensus was not reached among Palestinian factions, with most of the 11 parties making up the PLO opposing a return to talks with Israel.


Gaza will be the ghost at Mideast talks banquet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Douglas Hamilton - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am


It's the proverbial elephant in the room, the ghost at the banquet, the spectre no one wants to acknowledge. Even if Israel and the Palestinians can scale a mountain of scepticism and reach a peace treaty in the next 12 months, 40 percent of Palestinians would be part of it in name only, because they live in the Gaza Strip. Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers say they will never give Israel what it most wants from a Middle East deal, which is recognition of the Jewish state and a legitimate place in the Middle East.


Hamas, Palestinian groups say no to direct talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
August 15, 2010 - 12:00am


Hamas and 10 Damascus-based Palestinian organizations declared they oppose the resumption of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Sunday. The Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front – General Command and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine were among the groups represented in the statement.


Gaza, W. Bank must be reunified before any deal with Israel: Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 29, 2010 - 12:00am


Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said here on Wednesday that reunification of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip must be carried on simultaneously with the Palestinian- Israeli peace process, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported. In a meeting with editors-in-chief of Egyptian newspapers in Cairo, Abbas reviewed the latest developments in the Palestinian arena, especially those concerning the peace process and efforts aiming to resume direct negotiations and achieve Palestinian reconciliation.


Rival Palestinian factions give priority to reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly - July 13, 2010 - 12:00am


Leaders of various Palestinian factions, including rival Fatah and Hamas movements, agreed on Monday that achieving the inter-Palestinian reconciliation and ending the rift between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank is a national priority to confront the Israelis. The factions' leaders called for overcoming the internal feuds and rejecting any external intervention in the internal Palestinian affair "in order to succeed the efforts of achieving the reconciliation." The call was made during a rally organized by the Palestinian National Initiative movement.


Hamas chief wants Egypt to host meeting with Fatah leaders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 8, 2010 - 12:00am


The Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal wrote a letter to Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, telling him he is ready to meet leaders from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party in Cairo, a Hamas official said Thursday. Mashaal sent his letter with an Egyptian lawmaker Mustafa Bakri when he met him in Damascus Tuesday, Yousef Rizka, an adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya, told Xinhua.



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