Fayyad tours Ramallah refugee camps ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 24, 2011 - 1:00am Salam Fayyad continued Tuesday his consultations to form a new government; meeting with representatives of the refugee camp popular committees and representatives of the private sector. Fayyad affirmed in a statement that the PA exerts tremendous efforts to develop the services and standard of living of the residents in the camps in a manner that meets with their natural right in a dignified life without exempting UNRWA from its political and legal responsibilities to care for the Palestinian refugees. » Read more

'Fatah-Hamas unity gov't will be led by Salam Fayyad' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post February 24, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian sources familiar with the details of a unity government deal being discussed by Hamas and Fatah representatives, said that the proposed government would be headed by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and will include members from both factions and independents, Al-Hayat reported Thursday. According to the report, the sources say that the plan has already been accepted by PA President Mahmoud Abbas and a number of Hamas leaders. The unity deal allows Hamas to continue ruling in the Gaza Strip as long as it refrains from violence. » Read more

'Fatah-Hamas unity gov't will be led by Salam Fayyad' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post February 24, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian sources familiar with the details of a unity government deal being discussed by Hamas and Fatah representatives, said that the proposed government would be headed by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and will include members from both factions and independents, Al-Hayat reported Thursday. According to the report, the sources say that the plan has already been accepted by PA President Mahmoud Abbas and a number of Hamas leaders. The unity deal allows Hamas to continue ruling in the Gaza Strip as long as it refrains from violence. » Read more

Israeli strikes hit Gaza overnight ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 24, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on multiple locations in the Gaza Strip overnight, injuring two in the first round of bombings near Gaza City shortly after 11 p.m. Injuries were reported in the first strike, which hit the Az-Zaytoun neighborhood east of Gaza City, while the Abu Jarad neighborhood to the south was pummeled with four strikes. Local officials called the series of strikes an "escalation," saying that Israeli forces have operated with increased aggression since an attack on a patrol which entered Gaza Wednesday morning, in the same area the second strike hit. » Read more

People get ready – there’s a train a-comin’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - February 23, 2011 - 1:00am I would prefer that the occupation ended in orderly fashion, without chaos, with the settlers living near the Green Line feeling unthreatened and the others having plenty of time to relocate. Unfortunately, this is not happening; I’d hoped the Obama administration would pressure Israel out of the West Bank, but nobody’s pressuring it out of anything. The 43-year status quo becomes more entrenched each day. » Read more

Hamas: Post-Mubarak, Israel up for Shalit deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 24, 2011 - 1:00am Hamas officials have decided to hold confidential discussions with Israel, reviving negotiations for a prisoner swap, Hamas spokesman Usama Al-Maziani said Wednesday. In the wake of the ouster of now former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the official said, Hamas leaders in Gaza believe Israel has become "more responsive" to a prisoner swap deal. According to Al-Maziani, Israeli officials had shown some "limited" responses to Hamas overtures seeking to secure the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel in return for the release of a captured Israeli soldier. » Read more

Washington Watch: The sound of one hand clapping ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - February 23, 2011 - 1:00am There were no winners in last week’s UN vote on the Arab resolution to condemn Israeli settlement policy. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas looked like he wanted an excuse to avoid making peace, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s preference for building settlements over negotiating only further deepened Israel’s international isolation and President Barack Obama showed he had little influence with either side, and few clear ideas about how to advance a peace process he insists is an administration priority. » Read more

Washington Watch: The sound of one hand clapping ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - February 23, 2011 - 1:00am There were no winners in last week’s UN vote on the Arab resolution to condemn Israeli settlement policy. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas looked like he wanted an excuse to avoid making peace, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s preference for building settlements over negotiating only further deepened Israel’s international isolation and President Barack Obama showed he had little influence with either side, and few clear ideas about how to advance a peace process he insists is an administration priority. » Read more

For the Mideast, a code for rising democracies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Tzipi Livni - (Editorial) February 24, 2011 - 1:00am These are days of momentous change in the Middle East. Courageous thousands have flooded the streets demanding their rights as citizens and as human beings. Calls for democracy - as a system of values that seeks to protect these rights - stem not from some foreign dictate but from an inner hunger for freedom. Much has been said in recent years about the "clash of civilizations," about the conflict between extremists and moderates, between coercion and freedom. And yet today, this battle is being waged at least as much within societies as between them. » Read more

Dan Shapiro to be named US envoy to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Hilary Leila Krieger - February 23, 2011 - 1:00am Senior White House adviser Dan Shapiro is set to be nominated as the next US ambassador to Israel, Washington sources said on Tuesday. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement has been made, though one is expected soon. Shapiro, born in 1969, currently serves as the National Security Council’s senior director for the Middle East and North Africa. He has regularly traveled to Israel and worked closely with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell to try to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. » Read more