Fatah

Gaza will be the ghost at Mideast talks banquet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Douglas Hamilton - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

It's the proverbial elephant in the room, the ghost at the banquet, the spectre no one wants to acknowledge. Even if Israel and the Palestinians can scale a mountain of scepticism and reach a peace treaty in the next 12 months, 40 percent of Palestinians would be part of it in name only, because they live in the Gaza Strip. Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers say they will never give Israel what it most wants from a Middle East deal, which is recognition of the Jewish state and a legitimate place in the Middle East.

What Hamas is really afraid of
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - August 16, 2010 - 12:00am

"I wish these pictures reached leftists abroad," my friend said to herself Tuesday as she watched Hamas police use rifle butts and clubs to beat her friends - activists from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Although my friend has never been a fan of the Fatah government in the West Bank, she is outraged by the romanticization of Hamas rule by foreign activists.

Lessons and legacies of Israel's Gaza withdrawal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - August 9, 2010 - 12:00am

Five years after then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon embarked on a landmark withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the disengagement continues to dominate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Here are some of the key lessons and legacies: Although disengagement enjoyed broad support at the time, almost no one calls it a success today.

Fatah official: Cabinet reshuffle within 2 weeks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 9, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority cabinet reshuffle will take place within two weeks, Fatah's parliament speaker Azzam Al-Ahmad said Sunday. President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed there would be a reshuffle in May, although reports of a new PA cabinet have been circulating since February. US pressure on Palestinian leadership to move to direct talks with Israel, and a busy schedule of visits have delayed the forming of a new cabinet, Al-Ahmad told Ma’an Radio Network.

A Talk with Palestinian Negotiator Ahmed Qurei
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Kifah Zaboun - August 9, 2010 - 12:00am

Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat- Ahmed Qurei, who is also known by his Arabic Kunya Abu Alaa, is a former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, and a veteran negotiator. In 1968 he joined the Fatah political party, and lived in exile with its founder, Yasser Arafat. After improving the economic fortunes of the party, he became a member of the Fatah central committee in 1989, and subsequently went on to play a prominent role in peace negotiations. He is highly regarded for the instrumental role he played in negotiating the Oslo accords of 1993.

Hamas urges Fatah not to go to direct talks with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Islamic Hamas movement warned on Thursday Fatah party of going to direct negotiations with Israel after the latter declined holding a tripartite meeting to set terms of reference for the stalled peace process. Salah al-Badawil, Gaza-based spokesman for Hamas, in a press release, demanded Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party not to return to "absurd talks" with Israel, urging the West Bank- ruling movement to give the priority for achieving national unity and isolating Israel.

Fatah official: PA to disband government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 28, 2010 - 12:00am

The Ramallah-based government led by premier Salam Fayyad will be disbanded and a new Palestinian Authority cabinet will be formed next week, a high-ranking Fatah official said Tuesday. Fatah's parliament speaker Azzam Al-Ahmad told Ma'an radio that President Abbas would consult with Palestinian factions over the new structure of the PA. Fayyad or another politician will be tasked with forming a government, he said.

Abbas warns Fatah to get organized or die
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
July 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned the Fatah party he leads that its days are numbered unless it puts its house in order. His remarks underscore the troubles facing a party in decline since the death of Yasser Arafat, its co-founder, in 2004. The movement's weaknesses have contributed to the rise of the Islamist group Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip for three years.

Abbas: Obama is being unclear
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday criticized US President Barack Obama for failing to provide him with clear answers to a number of questions regarding the future of peace talks with Israel. Abbas also confirmed that Obama has been exerting pressure on him to enter direct negotiations with Israel. Abbas was speaking during a closed meeting of members of the Fatah Revolutionary Council in Ramallah.

Abbas warns Fatah to get organized or die
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned the Fatah party he leads that its days are numbered unless it puts its house in order. His remarks underscore the troubles facing a party in decline since the death of Yasser Arafat, its co-founder, in 2004. The movement's weaknesses have contributed to the rise of the Islamist group Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip for three years.

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