Cairo | The American Task Force on Palestine

Sha`ath: Fatah HQ to reopen in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 9, 2010 - 12:00am

Hamas will instruct its government in the Gaza Strip to release detainees held on political grounds and reopen the Fatah party headquarters within the next two days, a top Fatah official said on Monday. Speaking days after his first trip since 2007 to the besieged coastal enclave, Central Committee member Nabil Sha'ath said Fatah officials were already permitted to visit without any special permit.

Arab World: The Egypt-Hamas collision course
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - January 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Hamas representatives who visited Cairo in November and December for talks on a possible prisoner exchange agreement with Israel and reconciliation with the rival Fatah faction asked government officials about the nature of the construction work that had been taking place for several weeks along the border between the Gaza Strip and Sinai. The Egyptians, according to one of the Hamas representatives, sought to allay the group's concerns by assuring them that this was only routine "engineering" work.

Hamas wants rocket fire halt to avoid Israeli retaliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - January 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Hamas in Gaza tried to ease tension with Israel and Egypt on Tuesday, urging other Palestinians to stop firing rockets into the Jewish state and promising Cairo answers over the shooting of an Egyptian soldier at the border. Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Islamist movement's government in the coastal enclave, said other armed groups in the Gaza Strip should observe what has amounted to a ceasefire since Israel's major offensive a year ago. That, Haniyeh said, was in the interests of protecting Gazans from Israeli attacks.

Pro-Gaza activists under siege - imposed by Egypt and Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Analysis) January 8, 2010 - 12:00am

The departure from Ramses Street in Cairo, in about 20 buses, was set for the morning of Monday, December 28. However, the organizers of the Gaza Freedom March knew the buses would not arrive. Just as on Sunday night, the buses hired by a group of French activists never made it to their starting point - Cairo's Charles de Gaulle Street, near the French Embassy and across from the zoo.

Jews raise voices for brutalised Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Linda S. Heard - January 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Last week in Cairo, Hedy Epstein, a frail 85-year-old American woman, embarked on a hunger strike for the first time in her life to protest the ongoing blockade of Gaza. She has no idea how her body will hold up, she says, but that isn't her priority. She is one of more than 1,300 international participants from 42 countries who flew to Cairo with the aim of participating in the Gaza Freedom March, initially planned to coincide with the first anniversary of Israel's Operation Cast Lead.

Israel’s double game should not set terms
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) December 30, 2009 - 12:00am

Again Benjamin Netanyahu holds out a poisoned chalice disguised as a peace initiative. The Israeli prime minister has played a wily game this past year to placate international pressure for a peace deal and the demands of his right-wing domestic coalition. During his recent visit to Cairo, Mr Netanyahu was praised for “moving forward” on peace negotiations, although the visit came the day after Israel announced plans for 700 new homes in East Jerusalem.

Israel and Egypt eye movement on peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher, Liam Stack - December 29, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Cairo Tuesday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in talks aimed at bringing Egyptian pressure on the Palestinians ahead of a flurry of diplomatic activity expected next week, including a visit from US Middle East envoy George Mitchell.

'Back to crisis management'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ahram
by Dina Ezzat - December 18, 2009 - 12:00am

Egyptian officials have expressed unreserved concern over the slow pace of development on the Palestinian scene, especially with regards to Gaza. Egypt's main concern, they privately admit, is not borne of sympathy with the Palestinians but concerns the consequences of the current stalemate on Egyptian interests.

Palestinian reconciliation efforts at an impasse, Fatah says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Hopes to restart Palestinian reconciliation efforts through signing Egypt’s proposal shrank again, as member of Fatah’s Central Committee Nabil Sha’ath on Monday alleged that Hamas had refused to sign the reconciliation document. “I contacted the Egyptian officials and reached the conclusion that efforts reached an impasse in light of Hamas' refusal to sign the Egyptian plan. Hamas’ top priority is the prisoner swap negotiations, and they will not take any other step before the deal is finalized,” Sha’ath told Ma’an during a telephone interview from Cairo.

Gaza border: Why Egypt is building a steel underground wall
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Sarah A. Topol - December 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Reports that Egypt is building a steel underground wall along its border with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip have fueled speculation about what exactly Cairo intends to accomplish with the project, which British newspapers claim is being carried out with the help of the US Army Corps of Engineers.