May 2nd

Hamas mourns bin Laden's death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews May 2, 2011 - 12:00am Hamas on Monday condemned the killing by US forces of Osama bin Laden and mourned him as an "Arab holy warrior" while Iran condemned "Zionist terror" and a US national security official told Reuters the mission of the special forces team that hunted down the terrorist had been to kill him. "This was a kill operation," the official said, making clear there was no desire to try to capture bin Laden alive in Pakistan. » Read more

Israel's Likud hard-liners calls for annexing West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 1, 2011 - 12:00am Amid ongoing Palestinian efforts to unilaterally obtain recognition of statehood in the United Nations in September, members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-led cabinet are reiterating calls for Israel to respond with a unilateral annexation of the West Bank. "If they take steps, we will take steps. I think that we need to immediately annex all of the territories on the same day (the UN declares the establishment of Palestine)," Welfare and Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon told an audience at a meeting of the Likud's young leadership forum on April 28. » Read more

No "final decision" yet on Palestinian tax freeze: Israeli officials ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua May 2, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli officials remained close- mouthed Monday after Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz announced a day earlier a decision to freeze the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) following the reconciliation accord between Fatah and Hamas. Steinitz, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many other senior Israeli officials, have slammed the interim unity government deal reached between Hamas and the Fatah-ruled PNA last week in Cairo, and vowed not to negotiate with Hamas, which Israel maintains is a terrorist organization. » Read more

Fatah denies Fayyad will not continue as PM ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews April 29, 2011 - 12:00am The chief of a Fatah delegation to truce talks with Hamas, Azzam al-Ahmed, denied in an interview the New York Times that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad would not be continuing in office. He said the Cairo talks regarding the truce agreement had not focused at all on members of the transition government.

Hamas leader: We will maintain security in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press May 2, 2011 - 12:00am A Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip says the Islamic militant group has no plans to dismantle its security forces or end its struggle against Israel after a new Palestinian unity government is formed this week. Hamas and the rival Fatah movement are set to sign a unity deal in Cairo on Wednesday. The plan seeks to end a 4-year-old rift that has left the Palestinians divided between a Western-leaning government in the West Bank and the Hamas regime in Gaza. The plan calls for elections next year but is vague about the future of rival security forces or using violence against Israel. » Read more

The prime minister’s speech ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tzachi Hanegbi - (Opinion) May 1, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority’s announcement that a reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas had been signed in Cairo prompted an immediate response from the government. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued the following statement: “The Palestinian Authority must choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas. There cannot be peace with both since Hamas aims to destroy Israel and says so openly.” » Read more

Egypt's revolution brings new players to move Palestinian pieces into place ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Jack Shenker - May 28, 2011 - 12:00am After years of unsuccessful lobbying by the Egyptian authorities for a reconciliation of the warring Palestinian factions, the post-Mubarak government has achieved a breakthrough. As Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of the Hamas politburo, said on Thursday, a new page has been turned. The emergence of a reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah on Wednesday took most observers by surprise, but behind the scenes a new cast of players had been moving the relevant pieces into place ever since a popular revolution ousted the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. » Read more

Barenboim to conduct Gaza 'peace concert' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) May 2, 2011 - 12:00am Renowned Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim will lead a "peace concert" by an orchestra of European musicians on Tuesday in the Gaza Strip, a United Nations agency said on Monday. The rare concert was announced in a statement by the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process, and will take place on Tuesday afternoon at Al-Mathaf Cultural House in Gaza City. Barenboim, an outspoken proponent of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, said he was delighted to be going to Gaza for the concert. "We are very happy to come to Gaza," he said in the UN statement. » Read more

Agreement increases pressure on Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - April 29, 2011 - 12:00am The accord struck between Fatah and Hamas that could end a bitter four-year feud will please a Palestinian public longing for a united leadership. Thousands in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-dominated West Bank rallied last month to demand that their leaders act, "with one hand". Their protests appear to have succeeded. The factions, after mediation by Egypt's transitional government, agreed on Wednesday to form an interim authority until elections are held within a year. Then, many hope, the Palestinians will once again fall under one government. » Read more

Egypt calls on US to recognize Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency May 2, 2011 - 12:00am Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi on Sunday called on the United States to recognize a Palestinian state, as rival Palestinian factions prepare to sign a reconciliation accord in Cairo. Arabi urged visiting US Congressman Steve Chabot to "press Congress and the American administration to recognise a Palestinian state." Recognition "would correspond with previous statements by the American administration supporting peace based on two states," the official MENA news agency quoted him as saying. » Read more