Palestinian Elections | The American Task Force on Palestine

Palestinians to hold municipal vote
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Ben Hubbard - February 1, 2011 - 1:00am

The Western-backed Palestinian government in the West Bank said Tuesday it will hold local council elections "as soon as possible" — a surprise move reflecting fears that massive anti-government protests in Egypt could inspire unrest here, too. The announcement was one of many responses among the region's Western-backed governments — many with questionable legitimacy and limited popular support — to reduce the chances their own people will rise up against them.

Al-Ahmad: Abbas considering holding elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 31, 2011 - 1:00am

Senior Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmad said Sunday that President Mahmoud Abbas was looking into holding presidential and legislative elections despite the national division. Speaking at a press conference in Ramallah, Al-Ahmad said a meeting would be held Monday to discuss holding elections. Fatah would support a government decision to hold elections, he said. The PA called off elections in June 2010, just weeks ahead of a planned vote. Officials said the sudden decision stemmed from the refusal of Hamas officials in Gaza to partake in the vote, a decision taken as early as March.

A Palestinian View: International legality is not up for a vote
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Blog) January 17, 2011 - 1:00am

The prospect of posing a referendum in the respective societies on any agreement reached between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators is not a new idea. Periodically it has surfaced in the political landscape, arising for different and sometimes contradictory reasons.

Building a Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Global Post
by Fredy Gareis - December 17, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — It was a couple of minutes after 10 on a Saturday morning when the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, stepped onto a rainy stage in Bethlehem and voiced his support for the enemy. Fayyad urged the people not to hold all Israelis responsible for the actions of some fanatical settlers. The day before some of them had burned down a Palestinian olive grove. The audience at the Olive Harvest Festival clapped their hands cautiously. Maybe they were expecting something else: rallying cries, slogans, boasting. But their prime minister is not the inciting type.

Hopes of Fatah-Hamas reconciliation still alive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - (Interview) December 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Reporting from Ramallah, West Bank — With reconciliation talks between leading Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas apparently at another impasse, hopes of an accord are fading fast. In the wake of a violent split in June 2007, when a coalition government collapsed, the more moderate Fatah has been in control of the West Bank and the militant Islamist Hamas has run the Gaza Strip, in effect dividing the Palestinian cause.

Interview: Possibility of inter-Palestinian reconciliation within coming months slim: official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly - (Interview) November 22, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Wassel Abu Yousef, secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) and member of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that he rules out the possibility of a reconciliation to be reached within the coming months amid the current situation.

Israeli general lays out plan for reviving Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Karin Laub - October 26, 2010 - 12:00am

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — The Israeli general who controls the gates of Hamas-run Gaza says he is pursuing a complex and delicate strategy: enable exports and development in the impoverished Palestinian territory while somehow preventing the Islamic militants who rule it from getting credit for any progress.

Palestinian Nation-Building Reaches Halfway Point
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America
October 7, 2010 - 12:00am

Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority speaks in a panel discussion 'Peace and Beyond in the Middle East' as Israeli President Shimon Peres, right, listens during Clinton Global Initiative Meetings in New York, 21 Sep 2010 (file photo) Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is midway through an ambitious two-year effort to build his government's institutions in order to build a viable Palestinian state if peace negotiations with Israel are successful. Analysts are mixed in their reviews about the results of this nation-building.

Fatah official: Serious progress in unity talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- A Fatah Revolutionary Council member said Monday that "serious progress" has been made in finalizing a unity deal between his party and Hamas following a meeting in Damascus over the week. Faisal Abu Shahla told Ma'an that representatives from the rival parties agreed on three disputed points of four during the Damascus meeting, which have thus far stalled the ratification of the Egyptian-backed unity deal.

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