Hamas slams PA threat to use force to regain control of Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - September 21, 2008 - 8:00pm

Hamas government spokesman Taher Nunu urged all the Palestinian organizations on Sunday to refrain from making statements that could escalate the internal Palestinian conflict. Nunu's comment came after Gen. Dhiab al-Ali, who heads the Palestinian Authority's forces in the West Bank and is considered the Palestinian chief of staff, told Haaretz that the PA must be ready to use force against Hamas in the Gaza Strip "to reunify the homeland." Such comments legitimize various groups that want to undermine security and stability in Gaza, Nunu charged.

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Patience frays
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ahram
by Dina Ezzat - September 16, 2008 - 8:00pm

The look on the face of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as he exited meetings with Arab foreign ministers at a late evening hour Monday, or earlier in the week after talks with President Hosni Mubarak, was one of despair. Abbas is all but saying that he cannot conclude a final status deal with the Israelis as he had hoped and that he cannot keep on fighting -- or as hard -- his immediate political adversary, Hamas. Abbas is saying this to all Arab, including Egyptian, interlocutors and is not getting much support from either.

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As peace talks sputter, Israelis and Palestinians eye Plan B
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - September 14, 2008 - 8:00pm

Over the past two decades of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, deadlines for peace agreements have come and gone with precious few treaties. Now, amid low expectations for an agreement before the expiration of the Bush administration's target for an accord by the end of 2008, voices are growing on both sides advocating abandoning talks on Palestinian statehood if they miss the mark yet again. "We certainly need to think outside the box," says Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator and longtime supporter of peace talks. "The business-as-usual approach hasn't worked."

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Abbas to Haaretz: We will compromise on refugees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - September 14, 2008 - 8:00pm

Perhaps it was the daytime fast and abstention from smoking during the holy month of Ramadan, and perhaps it was the conversation about the exhausting negotiations with Israel that caused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) to press the white button at least three times in the course of last Wednesday's interview. Sa'id, his personal assistant, enters without a word, pulls out the packet and lights a cigarette for the president. Abu Mazen's relaxed mood does not hint at all the troubles bombarding him from inside and out.

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Arab League Chief Says Angry with Palestinian Groups
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
September 8, 2008 - 8:00pm

The head of the Arab League said on Tuesday that he was angry with fractious Palestinian political groups and that sanctions against them were being discussed by Arab governments. Egypt, the main mediator between often rival Palestinian groups, has been holding bilateral talks with minor groups in preparation for similar talks with the two main groups -- Fatah and Hamas. "I am extremely angry with the Palestinian organizations," Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the league, told a news conference in an unusually harsh criticism of the Palestinians.

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Rice To Make New Push For Mideast Peace Agreement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
August 25, 2008 - 12:00am

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice left for Israel and the Palestinian territories on Sunday in another bid to push the stalled Arab-Israeli peace process forward. Rice "will travel to Israel and the Palestinian Territories on August 24," said spokesman Sean McCormack. McCormack said Rice's talks would include senior Israeli and Palestinian officials and would cover "ongoing efforts to create positive and lasting peace in the region and progress towards the shared goal of a peace agreement in 2008."

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Officials: Cairo Talks Unlikely To Reconcile Hamas And Fatah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
August 25, 2008 - 12:00am

A new round of Egyptian mediation starting on Monday and aimed at reconciling the rival Hamas and Fatah factions is unlikely to produce a breakthrough, officials familiar with the talks told Reuters. Sharp differences between Egypt and Hamas on two key issues will make it even harder for Cairo to broker a deal between the Islamic militant group that now rules the Gaza Strip and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, they said.

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Officials: Cairo talks unlikely to reconcile Hamas and Fatah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
August 24, 2008 - 8:00pm

A new round of Egyptian mediation starting on Monday and aimed at reconciling the rival Hamas and Fatah factions is unlikely to produce a breakthrough, officials familiar with the talks told Reuters. Sharp differences between Egypt and Hamas on two key issues will make it even harder for Cairo to broker a deal between the Islamic militant group that now rules the Gaza Strip and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, they said.

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Hamas Rejects Arab Deployment Plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - August 20, 2008 - 12:00am

Hamas has rejected a proposal to deploy Arab troops in the Gaza Strip, saying such a move would only deepen divisions among the Palestinians. The proposal, which was presented to Hamas by Egypt and Jordan in recent days, has won the full backing of the Palestinian Authority leadership in Ramallah. The initiative has also won the backing of the Saudis, who told visiting PA President Mahmoud Abbas that they would do their utmost to persuade Hamas to accept it, a senior PA official said Tuesday.

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Hamas Upset By Fatah Prisoner Release
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
August 20, 2008 - 12:00am

Israel's plan to release 200 Fatah prisoners as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has angered Hamas and could result in a policy change regarding any future prisoner exchange deal with Israel to secure the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar was quoted Tuesday by the London-based Arab daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi as saying that if only Fatah prisoners are released it will convince Hamas to demand the release of prisoners that "would fit" its agenda.

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