Abbas Sets Conditions For Gaza Talks With Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Alaa Shahine - January 31, 2008 - 6:00pm Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected demands on Wednesday by Hamas rivals for control of the breached Gaza-Egypt border and told the Islamist group to "end its coup in Gaza." Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in June after routing Abbas's more secular Fatah forces, blasted open the Egyptian border last week in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade, letting Gazans pour into Egypt to stock up on goods. » Read more

High Court Affirms Plan To Reduce Power To Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Ellen Knickmeyer - January 31, 2008 - 5:58pm srael's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the government's decision to reduce fuel and electricity deliveries to the Gaza Strip as a form of "economic warfare" against the armed Hamas group in control there. In doing so, the three-judge panel rejected the arguments of Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups that the blackouts and shortages caused by the cuts represent a form of collective punishment against Gaza's 1.5 million residents. » Read more

Bush Has Little Credibility Among Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Angus Reid Global Monitor January 31, 2008 - 5:57pm Few residents of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank believe George W. Bush actually intends to assist in the creation of a Palestinian state by the end of this year, according to a poll by An-Najah National University. 80.3 per cent of respondents think the United States president is not faithful in his promise. » Read more

Palestinians Feud, But Egypt And Hamas Working More Closely ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Dan Murphy - January 31, 2008 - 5:54pm Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dug in his heels Wednesday after a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to address the crisis over the Gaza border, publicly refusing to work with his Palestinian rival Hamas and calling for forces loyal to his government to take control of the border. While his defiant tone favors the status quo – he called the Hamas seizure of the Gaza Strip last June "a coup" – it came in the face of changing realities on the ground. » Read more