Palestinian reconciliation is important
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Ahmad Majdoubeh - (Opinion) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am

The statements made by Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mishaal during his recent visit to Jordan, as well as in an interview with the BBC, about concerted efforts to bring about Palestinian reconciliation are encouraging and important. The importance stems from many factors.

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News Analysis: Palestinian despair grows after Israeli elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan - (Analysis) February 3, 2013 - 1:00am

  Two weeks after the Israeli elections, the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank feel a solution to their conflict with Israel is further away with incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likely to stay. Although his Likud party shrank from 42 to 31 seats in the parliament after the vote, Netanyahu has been charged with forming the new government after the right wing parties in total won 61 seats, two more than the seats won by the centrist and left-wing parties combined.

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Official: Gaza security to release detained journalists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 28, 2013 - 1:00am

The public freedoms committee, a body set up to implement national reconciliation, has secured an agreement from Gaza's security services to free journalists recently detained in the coastal strip, a representative said Monday. The detention of six reporters in Gaza over two days last week raised concerns about a setback in the reconciliation process. As part of the 2011 deal, Hamas in Gaza and the Fatah-led government in the West Bank agreed to stop media harassment and politically-motivated arrests.

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Mashaal to meet Jordan king, sources say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 28, 2013 - 1:00am

Hamas' chief-in-exile Khalid Mashaal will meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday, Jordanian sources said. Senior Hamas leader Izzat al-Rishiq told Ma'an Sunday that Mashaal had arrived in Amman for an official visit to Jordan, without providing further details. Jordanian sources told Ma'an that the Hamas chief is expected to discuss Palestinian reconciliation with the Jordanian king and other officials.

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Egypt’s MB Pressuring Hamas Chief to Continue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
January 28, 2013 - 1:00am

The Hamas movement has postponed selecting a new Political Bureau chief in a clear bid to persuade incumbent, Khalid Mishal, to nominate himself for a fifth term. An Informed Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that delaying the convening of the Hamas Shura Council is meant to give Arab, Palestinian, and Islamic parties’ more time to pressure Mishal to change his mind.

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Gaza university introduces dress code for women
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 27, 2013 - 1:00am

A university in the Gaza Strip announced this week that female students must abide by an "Islamic" dress code, causing uproar from Palestinian groups and students themselves. Al-Aqsa University in Gaza City will implement the dress regulations when the new semester begins. University president Salam al-Agha clarified to Ma'an that the code does not require the jilbab (full-length coat) or niqab (face-veil), but rather what he termed dress befitting of the university. He said students would not be expelled for violations of the dress code.

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Hamas and Fatah No Closer To Settling Their Differences
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Dalia Hatuqa - (Opinion) December 17, 2012 - 1:00am

Amid the unprecedented West Bank celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of Hamas’ founding, questions are arising as to whether the Islamist Movement and Fatah are finally one step closer to reconciling their political differences. 

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Hamas announces second day of West Bank rallies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 14, 2012 - 1:00am

TULKAREM (Ma'an) -- Hamas will hold rallies in the West Bank on Friday in the second day of its celebrations to mark the movement's 25th anniversary. On Thursday, thousands turned out in Nablus to celebrate the founding of Hamas, the first time Hamas was authorized to hold a mass political event in the West Bank by the Fatah-dominated government.

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Abbas phones Mashaal to discuss reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 13, 2012 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas phoned Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal on Wednesday to discuss ending the division according to prior agreements, a Fatah official said. Azzam al-Ahmad said Abbas phoned Mashaal to accelerate implementing national reconciliation. Abbas talked with him about his first visit to Gaza, and about Hamas' anniversary celebrations. Al-Ahmad said he met Mashaal on Wednesday and a member in Fatah's central committee as part of new efforts to see if a reconciliation deal could finally be implemented.

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Abbas: Meshal approved an agreement recognizing two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - December 13, 2012 - 1:00am

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas came out on Thursday in criticism of Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, who said last week during his visit to Gaza that the organization will never recognize Israel, and called for its destruction. Speaking to Turkish reporters in Ankara, Abbas said that he does not agree with Meshal's statements. "We recognized Israel in 1993," he said. "There is an agreement between Fatah and Hamas that recognizes the two-state solution. Meshal approved this agreement."

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