Q&A: What is the Palestinian split all about?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
December 4, 2008 - 1:00am

Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority and leader of the long-dominant, secular Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), is in conflict with Hamas, the Islamist movement which won a parliamentary election in 2006. Since June 2007, when Hamas routed Abbas's forces in the Gaza Strip, prompting Abbas to fire a Hamas-led government and appoint his own in the West Bank, each side has accused the other of persecutions. Human rights monitors say there has been an upsurge in torture and detentions in the West Bank recently.

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Hamas leaders abroad question group's iron grip on Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - November 24, 2008 - 8:00pm

Internal Hamas correspondence intercepted by the Palestinian Authority and obtained by Haaretz reveals a deep divide between the organization's leadership abroad and its West Bank leadership, on the one hand, and the Gaza leadership on the other. In the documents, the leadership abroad says it does not want "to control Gaza completely while losing the West Bank."

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Abbas says may call for Palestinian elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Wafa Amr - November 23, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday he would call for elections in 2009 if his secular Fatah movement and its Islamist rivals Hamas do not reconcile by the end of this year. "If the dialogue does not begin, and if we fail, I will issue a presidential decree early next year calling for simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections," Abbas told members of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He did not name a date. Elections could be held 90 days after his decree, but there was no hint of when that might be.

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Haniyeh says Gaza groups want calm with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
November 20, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian armed groups in Gaza remain committed to a truce with Israel if the Jewish state reciprocates, Hamas' Gaza leader said on Friday, even as militants launched more attacks from the coastal territory. They fired a rocket and two mortars on Israel, continuing an almost daily series of attacks over the past 17 days, none of which has inflicted major casualties.

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Palestinian security gets a feminine touch
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - November 20, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian police surround the house of suspected militants and knock, demanding to be let in. Normally, they'd kick in the door if it didn't open immediately, but today they have the thing that every home is said to need: a woman's touch. As part of a new Palestinian Authority (PA) security initiative, this unit, like every Hebron unit that searches houses, has two female officers to bring a gentler side to long-stigmatized house raids.

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Abbas to shun Arab League Cairo meet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - November 19, 2008 - 8:00pm

The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah is "extremely disappointed" with the Arab countries over their refusal to hold Hamas responsible for the failure of Egyptian efforts to end the Islamic movement's dispute with Fatah, PA officials said Wednesday. The officials said that PA President Mahmoud Abbas had decided to boycott the upcoming meeting of the Arab League Foreign Ministers in Cairo in protest against the Arab countries' position.

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Abbas accuses Hamas leaders of 'not wanting' reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
November 11, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas launched a bitter attack Tuesday on the Hamas movement, which controls Gaza, as a divided nation marked the fourth anniversary of historic leader Yasser Arafat's death. Abbas accused Hamas of sabotaging efforts to mend the rift in Palestinian ranks created by its seizure of Gaza last year and of using force to prevent any commemorations for Arafat in the coastal territory.

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Officials deny Bethlehem sweep will target Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
November 11, 2008 - 8:00pm

The Palestinian leadership mounted a security operation in Bethlehem on Tuesday similar to those launched in other West Bank towns that have drawn charges of partisanship."The security plan is aimed against those who do not respect the law and is not intended as a basis for carrying out political arrests," Bethlehem security chief Colonel Suleiman Abu Hadid told a news conference. He added that the plan would not involve the deployment of any police reinforcements, unlike in the flashpoint city of Hebron where an additional 600 officers were deployed last month.

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Abbas urges vote to heal rift with Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Wafa Amr - November 11, 2008 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Tuesday for a referendum to resolve a power struggle with Hamas, highlighting bitter divisions on a day of mourning for Yasser Arafat. Tens of thousands gathered at Arafat's gravesite in the West Bank city of Ramallah for the fourth anniversary of the former Palestinian leader's death. Hamas, which seized Gaza last year after routing Abbas's forces, barred Arafat memorials there.

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At Arafat memorial rally, Abbas blames Hamas for continued rift
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
November 10, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday blamed political rival Hamas for another failed reconciliation attempt. Abbas spoke during a rally marking the fourth anniversary of the death of his predecessor Yasser Arafat. Over the weekend, Hamas pulled out of planned reconciliation talks at the last minute. It demanded that Abbas first release Hamas prisoners in the West Bank.

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