Fatah Considering Elections Without Hamas Approval
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Kifah Zaboun - October 18, 2009 - 12:00am

Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat- The Palestinian presidency was surprised on Friday by Egypt's stand toward Hamas's request to postpone the signing of the reconciliation agreement and its agreement on postponing the date of the signing, Asharq Al-Awsat has learned. Earlier, Azzam al-Ahmad, official in charge of national relations in the Fatah Movement Central Committee, conveyed to the Egyptian side the movement's approval of the reconciliation agreement, provided that the signing date would not be postponed and no new words would be introduced to the text.

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Draft UN resolution inserts text on Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 14, 2009 - 12:00am

A draft resolution submitted by Palestinian diplomats to the United Nations Human Rights Council calls for a full endorsement of the Goldstone report on Gaza and also condemns Israel for its policies in Jerusalem. The draft was made public on Wednesday on the website of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. President Mahmoud Abbas’ government reportedly submitted the draft after it demanded a new debate on the Goldstone war crimes report.

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Palestinian UN draft / The more extreme, the better for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - October 14, 2009 - 12:00am

We should not get unnerved by the heartbreaking cries coming from Jerusalem regarding Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to appeal to the UN Human Rights Council with an upgraded Goldstone report. Wise men have said in the past, "the worse it is, the better it is." The more extreme the Palestinian offer gets, the chance of it winning support in the West dwindles.

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Fatah signs reconciliation plan, placing onus on Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Ramallah – Ma’an – Fatah signed an Egyptian-backed deal for reconciliation with its archrival, the Hamas movement, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday, senior officials said. Jamal Muheisin, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, told Ma’an that they signed the deal because of the movement’s “positive” outlook on the plan. He also said Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmad will hand over the signed document Wednesday or Thursday.

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Gaza government: We backed Goldstone from the start
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 13, 2009 - 12:00am

The Hamas-backed government in the Gaza Strip on Monday denied President Mahmoud Abbas’ allegations that the government did not support the Goldstone report on war crimes. Government spokesperson Taher An-Nunu said in a statement, “Goldstone met with the government and its ministers more than once, and he also met with the Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, which led him to praise our government in his report clearly, openly and in public.”

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UN chief backs Abbas decision to debate Goldstone report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
October 13, 2009 - 12:00am

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon supports a Palestinian proposal to reopen debate in the Human Rights Council on the Goldstone Commission's report on the Gaza war, his spokeswoman Michele Montas said on Monday. She said Ban assured Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on the matter during a telephone conversation on Sunday. Israeli officials across the board have condemned the 575-page report which accuses Israel of war crimes during the wintertime offensive. The report also accused Hamas of actions amounting to war crimes by firing rockets at civilians in southern Israel.

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U.S. to Egypt: Fatah-Hamas deal undermines Israel-PA talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - October 13, 2009 - 12:00am

The United States sent a message to Egypt stating it does not support the proposed reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas as it would undermine negotiations with Israel, Haaretz has learned. George Mitchell, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, met on Saturday night in Cairo with the chief of Egyptian intelligence, Gen. Omar Suleiman, and told him the United States would not support an agreement not aligned with the principles of the Quartet.

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Hamas to Abbas: Don't call new elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - October 12, 2009 - 12:00am

In another sign of increased tensions between Hamas and Fatah in light of the Palestinian Authority's controversial decision to abandon a vote at the UN Human Rights Council on the Goldstone Report, the Islamic movement on Sunday warned PA President Mahmoud Abbas against unilaterally calling new elections. The Fatah Central Committee on Saturday night urged Abbas to issue a presidential decree on October 25 for holding presidential and parliamentary elections.

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Hopes fade over Palestinian unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
October 12, 2009 - 12:00am

A reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas, the rival Palestinian parties, has been delayed, following a bitter dispute over the Palestinian decision not to back a UN report on alleged Israeli war crimes. The deal was to be signed on October 25, clearing the way for Hamas and Fatah to co-operate in rebuilding war-damaged Gaza by preparing for Palestinian elections in the first half of 2010.

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Abbas reverses course on Goldstone report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 11, 2009 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday evening that he has instructed his envoy to the United Nations in Geneva to seek a new debate in the Human Rights Council on the Goldstone report on alleged war crimes in Gaza. During a televised speech, Abbas confirmed reports from Friday that his government had completely reversed course on the 575-page report. “I instructed the ambassador to call for another exceptional meeting of the Human Rights Council to vote on the report, seeking to punish all who committed the most grotesque crimes against women and children in Gaza,” Abbas said.

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