Clash in Palestinian camp in Lebanon kills 2
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Zeina Karam - February 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Islamic militants clashed with Fatah gunmen in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon on Monday, killing at least two people, Palestinian security officials said. It was not immediately clear what prompted the shootout in the Ein el-Hilweh camp, where gunfights are common between armed groups jockeying for power. Monday's confrontation involved gunmen from the militant Asbat al-Ansar group, which is on a U.S. terrorism list and which Washington has accused of being linked to al-Qaida.

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Fatah urges Hamas to sign reconciliation file before AL summit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 12, 2010 - 1:00am

A high-ranking official of Palestinian Fatah movement Thursday in Egypt urged Hamas to sign the Egyptian-brokered reconciliation file before the yearly Arab summit next month. Nabil Shaath, a member of the Fatah central committee, made the remarks in a statement carried by the state-run MENA news agency. "The movement (Fatah) will not hold any discussions with Hamas unless Hamas accepts an Egyptian-sponsored paper on inter- Palestinian reconciliation," Shaath said in the statement.

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Bare Hands and Deteriorating Minds
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Zuheir Kseibati - (Opinion) February 11, 2010 - 1:00am

The opinion polls do not reveal surprising facts in Israel, as they promise the Likud Party and its leader Benjamin Netenyahu with more publicity among the Israelis. These polls promise to reward their extremism with more seats in the Knesset.

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Sha`ath: Fatah HQ to reopen in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 9, 2010 - 1:00am

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.

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All factions meet in Gaza for talks on unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 4, 2010 - 1:00am

Representatives of all Palestinian factions met in Gaza City late Wednesday at the headquarters of the independents, Yasser Al-Wadiyeh said Thursday morning. The announcement came hours after the arrival of Fatah leader Nabil Sha'ath to Gaza, where he was welcomed by several of the independent personalities. Al-Wadiyeh said political leaders sat and discussed recent developments in the Palestinian arena, mainly internal reconciliation and efforts around achieving unity. All partners agreed that the current status of talks must be overcome and unity achieved.

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Fatah leader visits Gaza in goodwill trip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Rizek Abdel Jawad - February 3, 2010 - 1:00am

A senior Fatah leader is visiting Gaza for the first time since the territory was seized by Fatah's Islamic militant Hamas rivals in 2007. Nabil Shaath, a Gaza native, said Wednesday that his three-day trip is meant to improve the atmosphere between the two factions. Repeated attempts at reconciliation have failed. Shaath handed his passport to Hamas border guards for registration, in a symbolic recognition of Hamas authority. Shaath says the trip has the blessing of Fatah's leader, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Helping Abbas climb down the high tree
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - (Analysis) February 2, 2010 - 1:00am

If anyone sought proof that President Mahmoud Abbas was planning to return to the negotiating table with Israel in the near future, it was provided by the results of “public opinion” polls published in the past few days by a number of Fatah-controlled media outlets and an interview he gave to Britain’s Guardian newspaper. The polls are seen by many Palestinians as an attempt to prepare local public opinion for the possibility that the Palestinian Authority will soon resume the stalled peace talks with Israel.

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‘Corruption will let Hamas take W. Bank'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - January 29, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has surrounded himself with many of the corrupt officials who used to work for his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, and that’s why Hamas will one day take control of the West Bank, Fahmi Shabaneh, who was appointed by Abbas four years ago to root out corruption in the Palestinian Authority, said on Thursday.

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Gaza key power plant could shut over money row
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
January 27, 2010 - 1:00am

A money dispute between the rival Palestinian governments is threatening to shut down Gaza's only power plant. The dispute pits the internationally backed government of the West Bank against Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers. The plant provides power to much of northern Gaza. The European Union used to pay for the plant's fuel as part of an aid package to the Palestinian Authority. However, the EU decided to start scaling back and said it wants the Palestinian Authority to find other ways to pay for the fuel. The Palestinian Authority demands that Hamas pay its share.

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Palestinian parliament expires four years after Hamas electoral upset
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Erin Cunningham - January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Four years after Hamas won an upset victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, prompting swift international sanctions and a Western-led diplomatic boycott, the mandate for the parliament it dominated officially expired on Monday. According to the Palestinian Constitution, new parliamentary elections should have been held Sunday, Jan. 24, in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But continued political division between the West Bank, governed by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA), and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, has delayed the elections indefinitely.

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