Lally Weymouth interviews Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Lally Weymouth - (Interview) June 22, 2012 - 12:00am

“If only we could clone him,” a senior U.S. official said to me recently, speaking about Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Held in great respect by foreigners, Fayyad may soon find himself out of a job if Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (also called Abu Mazen) forges a national unity government with Hamas. This past week, Fayyad sat down in the West Bank city of Ramallah with The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth. Excerpts:

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Majority of Palestinians Doesn’t Trust Fatah, Hamas Regards of Reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Palestine News Network
June 20, 2012 - 12:00am

A poll hosted by the Palestine News Network has shown that the majority of Palestinians, around 80%, have no confidence in the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, saying that there is no hope for the reconciliation. The poll was published on the PNN website several weeks ago directly after the news about Fatah and Hamas signed an agreement on the formation of a new consensus government. The poll shows that:

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Hamas govt: No peace with secularism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 14, 2012 - 12:00am

Islamic rule will prevail and will not make peace with secularism, the Interior Minister in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Wednesday. "There will be no peace with secularism. The only peace is first with God, then with Jihad, then with resistance, then with the people and with martyrs," Fathi Hammad said.

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The Palestinian Disunity Government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Council On Foreign Relations
by Elliott Abrams - (Blog) May 22, 2012 - 12:00am

Last Sunday in Cairo, Hamas and Fatah signed an agreement to create the national unity government to which they agreed in principle months ago in Doha. They will meet on May 27 and have given themselves ten days to negotiate a new coalition that would then carry out elections. This announcement is interesting and potentially significant, but not in obvious ways. First, it was brokered by the Egyptian General Intelligence Service. This is a significant display of the continued vigor of that organization and its influence on the Palestinian parties.

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Is a Palestinian revolt against Mahmoud Abbas brewing?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph
by Adrian Blomfield - (Analysis) May 4, 2012 - 12:00am

It was meant to be a day of catharsis and rejoicing, marking the fulfilment of a visionary government strategy to end years of debilitating political cleavage and create a formidable platform to challenge Israel's occupation. But instead of going to the polls as they were promised this Friday, Palestinians are remaining at home, betrayed once again by bickering leaders whose quarrels have contributed to an increasingly dangerous sense of malaise across the West Bank and Gaza.

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Senior PA official: Iran is provoking region
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 16, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The secretary-general of the Palestinian Authority on Monday accused Iran of provoking regional strife by violating the sovereignty of the UAE. Tayyeb Abdul Rahim condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent visit to Abu Musa, one of three Gulf islands claimed by both the UAE and Iran. The PA rejects Iranian threats to the Gulf states "as we reject the Israeli occupation and resist it," the secretary-general said in a statement.

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Fayyad hails popular resistance at Bil'in parlay
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - April 10, 2012 - 12:00am

Popular resistance against Israel reflects the rights of Palestinians, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad asserted Tuesday. Speaking at the Bil'in 7th International Conference for Popular Struggle, Fayyad said, "Popular resistance is one of the best forms of resistance and reflects the rights of Palestinians." The PA prime minister also charged that settlements violate international law and go against the peace process.

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Fatah: Iran Paid Hamas to Block Unity Deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Ali Sawafta - March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (Reuters) -- Iran paid Hamas to block a deal with the rival Fatah movement that would have ended a five-year rift between the two main Palestinian factions, a Fatah spokesman said Tuesday. He said Tehran recently resumed financial aid to Hamas which it had suspended six months ago over the movement's failure to back their mutual ally Bashar Assad of Syria in his military campaign to crush dissent.

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Hamas: Fatah Prefers US Dollars to National Agreements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Fatah has not implemented any of its reconciliation commitments because it prefers American money to national agreements, a spokesman for the Hamas-led government in Gaza said Monday. Taher al-Nunu said in a statement that Fatah is trying to destroy the reconciliation agreement it signed with Hamas last May. Al-Nunu's remarks were made in response to comments by senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad, who said Hamas was responsible for the ongoing delay in forming a unity government.

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Turkey’s Erdogan to Discuss Palestinian Reconciliation Efforts with Hamas’ Exiled Leader
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 16, 2012 - 12:00am

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s prime minister is meeting Hamas’ chief Khaled Mashaal to discuss reconciliation efforts between the rival Palestinian factions. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday he would be discussing developments concerning Palestinian unity in Ankara on Friday with Hamas’ top leader in exile. Reconciliation efforts between Hamas — shunned by the West as a terror group — and Fatah continue, but they have encountered new obstacles.

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