Palestinian PM to reshuffle government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will reshuffle the government in the West Bank soon, an official from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party said Wednesday. "President Abbas has started discussions to do the reshuffle that may take place within the coming 10 days," said Amin Maqboul, a member of the Fatah Central Committee. Maqboul added that Fayyad would continue leading the government and he would carry out the reshuffle "because he is not a subject of big controversy" for Fatah.

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Israeli bulldozers raze 6 east Jerusalem buildings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Diaa Hadid - July 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli bulldozers destroyed six buildings, including at least three homes, in contested east Jerusalem on Tuesday, resuming the demolition of Palestinian property after a halt aimed at encouraging peace talks. Jerusalem house demolitions are a volatile issue because of conflicting Israeli and Palestinian claims to the city's eastern sector. Israel sees it as part of its capital city, while Palestinians want it for their own future capital.

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Rival Palestinian factions give priority to reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly - July 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Leaders of various Palestinian factions, including rival Fatah and Hamas movements, agreed on Monday that achieving the inter-Palestinian reconciliation and ending the rift between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank is a national priority to confront the Israelis. The factions' leaders called for overcoming the internal feuds and rejecting any external intervention in the internal Palestinian affair "in order to succeed the efforts of achieving the reconciliation." The call was made during a rally organized by the Palestinian National Initiative movement.

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Poll: 2/3 of Palestinians against rocket attacks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

Some 68% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza do not want Hamas to resume its rocket attacks on Israel, while 25.5% believe the attacks against Israel's southern communities should be resumed, according to a survey conducted by the Ramallah-based Arab World for Research & Development (AWRAD) organization. The poll's findings, which are based on answers by 1,200 respondents, indicate that 35.4% of Palestinians residing in Hamas-ruled Gaza are interested in resuming the attacks, while only 19.5% of Palestinians in the West Bank share this opinion.

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UNRWA criticizes Palestinian infighting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
June 28, 2010 - 12:00am

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) called on the different Palestinian factions Sunday to stop the infighting in order to solve a developing electricity crisis in Hamas-run Gaza. "It is such a tragedy that, on top of all the other crises that we have in the Gaza Strip, we now have a crisis of electricity," John Ging, director of UNRWA in Gaza, was quoted by AFP as saying.

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Rattling the Cage: Dodo birds vs. Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

There are off-the-record sources saying West Bank leader Mahmoud Abbas told the Americans he wanted Israel’s blockade of Gaza to continue. Abbas denies it, of course, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true. After all, if Israel lifts the blockade, Hamas will be able to tell Palestinians: “We chased the Zionists out of Gaza with resistance, with jihad, and look at the West Bank – they’re everywhere, taking our land, standing over us with their guns. The collaborators Abbas and Fayyad have to beg ‘Mr. Bibi’ to lift a few checkpoints, and then they’re expected to say thank you.”

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Controversy over elections decision continues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 11, 2010 - 12:00am

Justifications and condemnations continue to pour in following the surprise announcement Thursday afternoon that municipal elections set for July would be canceled in the interest of Palestinian unity and an end to the Gaza blockade. Minister of Local Governance Kahled Al-Qauasmy weighed in late in the day, telling Ma’an Radio that the PA cabinet took the decision to delay the elections in light of the "updates on the international arena," and following requests from Arab states.

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Majority of PLO factions form elections coalition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 7, 2010 - 12:00am

All factions represented within the PLO in Nablus will run for local elections on a combined list, except for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian People's Party (PPP), a statement from the body read Sunday. Following a series of meetings between PLO factions, an agreement was reached to unify a list for the Nablus municipal and council elections, the statement read, the first that will be held across the region, set for mid July.

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Abbas forces Sheikh Tamimi into retirement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas announced the end of Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi's career as Palestinian Chief Justice and Supreme Judge on Monday, with sources citing corruption charges brought forward by whistle-blower Fahmi Shabana months earlier. With Shabana's allegations principally focused on former presidential adviser Rafiq Al-Husseini, who was embroiled in a sex-tape scandal and accusations of selling land to Israel, the only mention of charges against Tamimi came in early May, when the sheikh made a public statement denying rumors that Abbas was charging him with corruption.

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Elections in Palestine, again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Daoud Kuttab - May 27, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority is going ahead with plans to hold municipal elections on July 17. The elections are taking place despite the fact that the de facto government in Gaza has refused to accommodate them in areas under its control. Hamas has also said that it is calling on its supporters in the West Bank not to participate in the coming elections. The movement, which has yet to agree to the Egypt-sponsored reconciliation plan, says that elections of any kind (municipal, parliamentary or presidential) should only take place after Palestinians are unified.

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