Hamas, Fatah set to reconcile by 2010
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - September 9, 2009 - 12:00am


Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal's recent visit to Egypt has brought the Islamist movement and Fatah closer to ending their differences, sources close to Hamas in the Gaza Strip revealed on Tuesday. In another sign of rapprochement between the two parties, Hamas has welcomed plans by senior Fatah officials to visit the Gaza Strip for talks aimed at resolving the crisis. The Fatah officials who are expected to visit the Strip include Nabil Sha'ath, Jibril Rajoub, Mahmoud al-Aloul and Fakhri Bsaiso.


Hamas said ready to sign Shalit deal this weekend
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - September 4, 2009 - 12:00am


Hamas leader in exile Khaled Meshal is planning to finalize a prisoner swap deal for the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit during a rare visit to Cairo this weekend, senior Palestinian sources told the Saudi daily Al-Watan on Friday. Hamas spokesman Taher A-Nunu confirmed that Meshal was traveling to Cairo on Saturday for a round of talks with Egyptian officials, attended by the organization's top-brass from Gaza and Damascus.


Once-legendary Fatah figure makes a comeback
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard Boudreaux - September 1, 2009 - 12:00am


He ran the Gaza Strip like the Godfather, dispensing brutal punishment and benevolent largess. But that was before his summer of disgrace, two years ago, when Hamas militants drove out his armed followers and allowed looters to pick apart his seaside villa. Mohammed Dahlan, the once-legendary chief of Fatah's forces in the enclave, watched his own defeat helplessly from exile. Then he felt the sting of blame for "losing Gaza," a debacle that split the Palestinians into hostile camps and crippled their drive for statehood.


Hamas mulls denying Fatah leaders entry to Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 31, 2009 - 12:00am


Hamas hinted on Monday that Fatah officials who have been in the West Bank for their party’s recent convention might not be allowed to return to the Gaza Strip. “The Gaza Strip is accessible for all Palestinian people, but officially and in coordination with the government in Gaza. It is not accessible for those who violated the law and coordinated with occupation,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Ma’an.


Peace will help keep Obama popular
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Steven W. Barnes, Nadia Bilbassy - August 31, 2009 - 12:00am


Two international opinion polls released this summer indicate that global views toward the US are improving – in no small part due to the election of Barack Obama as president. The polls, by the Pew Global Attitudes Project and worldpublicopinion.org, both stress that Obama is viewed positively in most of the countries surveyed, but questions remain in the Middle East about the direction of US policies.


PLO holds poll amid criticism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
August 26, 2009 - 12:00am


The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) is facing claims it is no longer relevant as members of the legislative body prepare to vote on members for its executive council. The Palestinian National Council (PNC) convened in Ramallah in the West Bank on Wednesday to elect six new members to its executive committee. But the PNC, the highest legal body for Palestinians, is facing criticism from Palestinian factions who say the body has failed to represent the Palestinian people. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have refused to join until the organisation is reformed.


Hamas-Fatah talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) August 25, 2009 - 12:00am


Egypt continues its efforts to mediate between Fatah and Hamas; Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has publicly upbraided them for their destructive divisions; yet Fatah and Hamas refuse to put their dispute aside and work together for the Palestinians’ common good.


Fatah proposes 3-month truce with Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - August 24, 2009 - 12:00am


Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are renewing a wave of mutual arrests following the deadlock reached in talks meant to bring the Fatah and Hamas delegations together in Cairo. Fatah and PA sources said Hamas security forces arrested three Fatah operatives in the Gaza Strip, and that PA security forces have arrested 12 Hamas men in Hebron. The current round of arrests indicates the many difficulties faced by the Egyptians in their attempt to get the rival Palestinian factions to convene around the negotiations table.


Hamas rejects elections, Arab normalization with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan - August 20, 2009 - 12:00am


The Islamic Hamas movement rejected on Wednesday participation in Palestinian elections early next year unless a reconciliation deal is reached with rival Fatah party. Hamas sources in Gaza stressed that the movement would never go to legislative and presidential elections on Jan. 25 before signing a reconciliation deal that ends the current internal rift. "Ending the file of political prisoners in the West Bank, and reaching a reconciliation agreement are conditions for holding the elections on time. Otherwise, the idea will be rejected for sure," the sources told Xinhua.


Fatah, Hamas trade accusations over failure to bridge rift
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - August 19, 2009 - 12:00am


Egypt has once again failed in its efforts to end the rift between Hamas and Fatah, sources close to the two parties said on Wednesday. An Egyptian security delegation that met with Hamas and Fatah representatives in Ramallah this week left without succeeding in persuading the two sides to attend another round of reconciliation talks in Cairo late this month, the sources told The Jerusalem Post.



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