Israel blocking Palestinian officials from using main Jordan crossing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Avi Issacharoff - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli authorities have decided to block any Palestinian official aside from the president and prime minister from crossing over the Allenby Bridge from the West Bank into Jordan. Coordinator of Government Activities in the West Bank Eitan Dangot announced the decision late Wednesday. The move seems geared specifically at two senior members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement – Ahmed Qureia and Mahmoud Dahlan – who have made aggressive remarks about Israel of late.

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In Gaza, rise of Hamas military wing complicates reconciliation with Fatah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ahram
by Kristen Chick - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Abu Khaled has been a member of Hamas's military wing for 11 years and he looks the part. His thick beard, black clothes, and serious face bear witness to his rise through the ranks to become one of the leaders of the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, near Israel's border. But at this moment, as he softly sings along with popular Arabic pop singer Elissa in a deserted Gaza restaurant, it's hard to believe he fought in the fierce 2007 battle that expelled Fatah, Hamas's secular rival, from Gaza.

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Hamas accuses Abbas of trying to fail reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
November 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Islamic Hamas movement accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday of trying to hinder national reconciliation. The accusation followed Abbas' remarks that security control in the Palestinian territories can not be shared with Hamas. Abbas statements "meant to ruin Damascus meeting" next week, in which Hamas and Abbas' Fatah party will discuss inter- reconciliation, especially the security issue, Hamas Spokesman Ayman Taha told Xinhua.

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Hamas official: We are on way to liberate Haifa, Acre
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - October 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Hamas is on its way to liberate Haifa and Acre together with other armies, Hamas’s Minister of Interior, Fathi Hammad, declared on Monday. His threat came as Palestinian Authority officials stepped up their rhetorical attacks on Israel for refusing to extend a moratorium on settlement construction. One official condemned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as an “enemy of peace.”

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Report: Barghouthi to be freed in Shalit deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 19, 2010 - 12:00am

MEDINA, Saudi Arabia (Ma'an) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to release Fatah strongman Marwan Barghouthi in a prisoner swap deal for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit when finalized, a Saudi Arabian newspaper reported Tuesday. According to Al-Madina, quoting sources, the German mediator told Hamas that Barghouthi would be freed but other prisoners on the Islamist movement's list would not.

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Gaza children deliver dreams, hopes to outside world through mini-boats
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 17, 2010 - 12:00am

GAZA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Around 30 mini cork boats floated on the water of Gaza Strip sea heading to the outside world with local children's messages of their dreams and suffering and calling for ending the Israeli blockade.

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Hamas shuts down journalists syndicate in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Security forces in the Gaza Strip closed the headquarters of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate without explanation Tuesday, a member of the press union's general secretariat said. Tahseen Al-Astal told Ma’an that forces arrived in civilian clothes and told them that the Ministry of the Interior had issued a decision to close the syndicate. He added that they were informed of the decision orally and received nothing in writing. The syndicate's Ramallah office condemned the move and is investigating.

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Hamas tells PA to 'unleash West Bank resistance'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Hamas has called on the Palestinian Authority to "unleash the resistance in the West Bank" by releasing political prisoners from jail and ending security coordination with Israel, a spokesman said. Sami Abu Zuhri said "Israel's continued offenses and invasions in Hebron come within the context of escalating Israeli crimes and attacks," following the killing of two Al-Qassam Brigades leaders on Friday, a statement read. "This attack comes with talks that the occupation is using as a cover to continue these crimes," the spokesman said.

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Hamas, Fatah to hold 2nd round of reconciliation talks in Damascus
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 7, 2010 - 12:00am

DAMASCUS, Oct.6 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian two major factions Hamas and Fatah will hold 2nd round of reconciliation talks in Damascus on October 20, the Damascus-based Hamas official Ezzat al- Rashaq told Xinhua Wednesday. "The two movements have agreed to meet again in Damascus to resume discussion over putting an end for the dispute and to tackle the unresolved issue which is the unifying of security bodies," al-Rashaq said.

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Will Abbas get, and accept, a two-month settlement freeze?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ben Lynfield - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am

A senior aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has signaled that his side will not abandon peace talks if Israel extends a West Bank settlement construction slowdown for two months.

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