Hamas/Fatah Reconciliation | The American Task Force on Palestine

Abbas says reconciliation not contradict with Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 9, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday told U.S. peace envoy David Hale that there are no contradictions between the Palestinian reconciliation and peace with Israel. The state-run Wafa news agency quoted Abbas, who held talks in Ramallah with Hale, as saying that peace for the Palestinians is strategic and the internal Palestinian reconciliation is a national Palestinian need.

Special from Israel: Officials mull path forward after historic Palestinian reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Egyptian Independent
by Roger Hercz - (Opinion) February 9, 2012 - 12:00am

Jaffa -- Mahmoud al-Zahar, the co-founder of Hamas, was clearly satisfied as he spoke to Israeli TV following the historic Palestinian reconciliation pact signing last week. “Your intelligence organizations are not so impressive after all,” he told Channel 10 News. Israeli leaders were certainly caught off guard when news broke that Fatah and Hamas had reached a deal to mend ties, four years after a schism erupted between the two Palestinian factions and Hamas security forcibly ousted Fatah personnel from the Gaza Strip. Al-Zahar was rubbing Israel’s lack of anticipation in its face.

A ‘Major Triumph for Qatari Diplomacy’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Qatar News Agency
(Editorial) February 8, 2012 - 12:00am

The Doha Declaration signed between the two main Palestinian movements - Fatah and Hamas - should be considered as a “major triumph for Qatari diplomacy”, a number of Palestinian and Arab political experts said yesterday. They said that that Qatari diplomacy’s “strenuous efforts” succeeded in bringing the Palestinian people back together. They expressed their thanks to Qatar, under the leadership of HH the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, for supporting Palestinian reconciliation.

Egyptian intelligence chief discusses Palestinian reconciliation efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
February 8, 2012 - 12:00am

Egyptian Intelligence Chief Mourad Mowafi on Wednesday met with Azzam al-Ahmed, member of Fatah’s Central Committee, to discuss Palestinian reconciliation efforts. Ahmed briefed Mowafi on the Doha Declaration in this regard, which was signed Monday by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Meshaal, chairman of Hamas’s political bureau, the state-run Middle East News Agency MENA reported. After the meeting, Ahmed said he briefed Mowafi because Egypt sponsors the reconciliation and is tasked by the Arab League to monitor its implementation.

Hamas-Fatah deal is realpolitik with real consequences
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Magid Shihade - (Opinion) February 8, 2012 - 12:00am

The agreement signed in Doha on Monday stipulates that President Mahmoud Abbas will lead an interim government, as well as keep his duties as head of the Palestinian Authority, in preparation for elections for the legislative council and for the presidency. Sponsored by Qatar's emir Sheikh Hamad Al Thani, the agreement was produced in large part because of regional and global developments. But it is better understood in terms of how these outside forces have affected internal changes in Palestinian politics.

Fatah Official: Abbas Can Head Government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 8, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas can appoint himself as head of the next government, a Fatah official said Wednesday, dismissing criticism that the move to bolster unity had no standing in Palestinian law. Azzam Ahmad said no law prevented Abbas from heading the government. "I advise those who reject this to read the laws again; we are a presidential system, not parliamentary." The Doha agreement signed Monday by Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal has been welcomed and criticized, with some saying the president had overstepped the parliament's authority.

Legal Controversy on Abbas’ Posts Grows After Doha Delaration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly - February 8, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A legal controversy over the posts of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rose on Tuesday, one day after he agreed in Qatar with Islamic Hamas movement's chief Khaled Meshaal that Abbas will form and lead a unified transitional government. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that if Abbas as president of the Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) also becomes the prime minister of the Palestinian government, "there would be doubts on whether he will be able to run in the upcoming presidential elections or not."

Is Palestinian Handshake Much Ado About Nothing?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - February 8, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM // After Hamas and Fatah agreed to form a unity government and hold elections, you would think their rapprochement would be cause for optimism among Palestinians. But just ask Mohammed Youssef. He flatly dismissed Monday's accord as nothing more than a ruse between Fatah's chairman and the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas and outgoing Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to quell public anger over the slow pace of their reconciliation.

EU: No Change in Palestinian Aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
February 8, 2012 - 12:00am

BRUSSELS, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The European Union says the Palestinian Authority's new Fatah-Hamas unity government will not change the EU's ongoing financial assistance to Palestinians. Hamas is officially considered a terrorist group by the European Union but it gained some recognition for freeing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a recent prisoner swap with Israel, the EUobserver reported.

Who is Hamas? 5 Questions About the Palestinian Militant Group
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Arthur Bright - February 8, 2012 - 12:00am

1. What are the origins of Hamas? Hamas emerged as the Palestinian wing of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood after the outbreak of the first intifada in 1987 and is the largest Palestinian militant organization, as Kristen Chick wrote in a 2009 Monitor briefing. An Arabic word that means zeal or enthusiasm, "Hamas" is also an acronym for the group's official Arabic name, the Islamic Resistance Movement.