Palestinian Unity | The American Task Force on Palestine

Abbas seeks to allay fears on accord with Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

A day after his Fatah movement initialed a reconciliation agreement with militant Islamist group Hamas, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas sought Thursday to counter warnings from Israel and suggestions in Washington that the accord would undermine peace efforts. Meeting at his headquarters with a group of Israeli businessmen and former security chiefs advocating an Israeli peace initiative, Abbas gave assurances that the Palestine Liberation Organization, which he heads, would still be responsible for handling negotiations.

Palestinian unity deal gives Netanyahu new line of attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

After months of playing defense against a Palestinian campaign for international recognition of statehood, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may now have a new line of attack. The Palestinian reconciliation deal announced in Cairo yesterday would pave the way for a unity government between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party and Hamas, considered a terrorist group by Israel, the US, and the European Union.

Egypt sends invites for signing ceremony
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

The Egyptian government sent invitations on Thursday to Palestinian political parties for the signing of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement, in a ceremony to be held next Tuesday in Cairo. The event will be used to set an implementation mechanism for the unity deal, to be approved by all political groups. Factions welcomed the invitations, and prepared to send delegations to Egypt.

Fayyad: National unity urgent for statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 25, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Saturday that a national unity government must be formed urgently as the last stages of the national project are completed. Fayyad's comments were made during a tour of villages near Ramallah, where the premier helped farmers to plant tree saplings. The prime minister's two-year state-building initiative is scheduled to be completed in September, when the PA is expected to seek international recognition of its statehood at the UN.

Abbas in Cairo, unity efforts begin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Active contacts between Palestine and the new Egyptian were resumed in Cairo Thursday, following the arrival of President Mahmoud Abas to the Egyptian capital. Abbas will meet with Egyptian General Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, and head of the interim military council ruling the nation following the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak. Palestinian Ambassador in Cairo Barakat Al-Farra said Abbas will meet with General Tantawi to discuss Palestinian reconciliation, as well as other developments in the Palestinian arena.

A New Palestinian Movement: Young, Networked, Nonviolent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time
by Joe Klein - March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Fadi Quran is the face of the new Middle East. He is 23, a graduate of Stanford University, with a double major in physics and international relations. He is a Palestinian who has returned home to start an alternative-energy company and see what he can do to help create a Palestinian state. He identifies with neither of the two preeminent Palestinian political factions, Hamas and Fatah. His allegiance is to the Facebook multitudes who orchestrated the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and who are organizing nonviolent protests throughout the region.

Love song for Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Shaked - (Opinion) March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Tareq Abu Salama sits at the heart of Bethlehem's Manger Sqaure, strumming the strings of his oud and singing protests songs against the Palestinian division and the Israeli occupation. A khaki-colored tent stands next to him, displaying a Palestinian flag and a sign calling for Palestinian unity. At the tent's entrance stands a mosaic board shaped like a Palestinian map; a large crack extends between Gaza and the West Bank.

The Palestinians: Why Is Abbas Running After Hamas?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Hudson New York
by Khaled Abu Toameh - (Opinion) March 29, 2011 - 12:00am

Instead of searching for ways to revive the peace process with Israel, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been busy seeking permission from Hamas to visit the Gaza Strip. However those who think that Hamas would one day agree to cede control over the Gaza Strip are living in an illusion. It would be better for Abbas if he invested his energies in reviving the peace process instead of courting Hamas.

Abbas would give up US aid for Palestinian unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - March 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is making a heavy push for reconciliation with Hamas and is willing to give up hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid if that's what it takes to forge a Palestinian unity deal, a top aide said Monday. The comments were the latest sign that Abbas is giving up on stalled peace talks with Israel and prefers to pursue unity with Gaza's Hamas rulers as he makes a push toward independence. "Of course we need the American money. But if they use it as a way of pressuring us, we are ready to relinquish that aid," said Azzam Ahmed, an Abbas aide.

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