Palestinian reconciliation may lead to Israel's Palestinian separation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Opinion) May 2, 2011 - 12:00am

As someone who considers herself to be a conservative journalist, I make an effort to refrain from reporting about what will happen in the future. Too many headlines, in my opinion, are about what so-and-so will say and what the fate of so-and-so will be. In the face of competition from the Internet and television, the printed press, afraid of becoming irrelevant, is often forced into making predictions. "I forgot my crystal ball at home" - is how I respond to the question "What will be?" I prefer to focus on what has been done and been said today and yesterday.

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Palestinian reconciliation is good news for Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) May 2, 2011 - 12:00am

What do they have in common - the hawks of Iz al-Din al-Qassam, the military wing of Hamas; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; his bodyguard, Defense Minister Ehud Barak; and Nobel Peace Prize laureate President Shimon Peres ? They all threw a fit over the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas.

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Fayyad urges international intervention over Israeli freeze on Palestinian taxes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
May 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority Prime Minster Salam Fayyad on Sunday urged foreign powers to intervene after Israel froze the transfer of tens of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax money following the formation of a Hamas-Fatah unity government. "Threats ... will not deter us from concluding our reconciliation process. It is our policy and we must work harder to end our divisions as soon as possible," added Fayyad.

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Hamas-Fatah Hug Gives Illusion of Unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) May 1, 2011 - 12:00am

As spring breaks out for Palestinian unity, winter arrives for the Middle East peace process. The prospective Hamas-Fatah unity agreement was driven primarily by domestic politics: Both of these long-term rivals are seeking to energize their bases, preempt discontent on the streets and dangle the always-attractive illusion of Arab unity before their constituents.

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The prime minister’s speech
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tzachi Hanegbi - (Opinion) May 1, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority’s announcement that a reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas had been signed in Cairo prompted an immediate response from the government. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued the following statement: “The Palestinian Authority must choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas. There cannot be peace with both since Hamas aims to destroy Israel and says so openly.”

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Palestine united
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) April 30, 2011 - 12:00am

The nascent Palestinian reconciliation, to be consummated next Wednesday in Cairo, is a welcome step that should result in a unified and stronger push for statehood led by the right group – a united Palestinian people.

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Sanity returns Egypt to the Arab fold
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) April 30, 2011 - 12:00am

Sometimes you can almost physically feel the political earth shifting beneath your feet. One of those moments occurred in Cairo a few days ago, when the main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, signed an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation agreement to reconstitute a single Palestinian government.

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Palestinian unity strips Israel of its false pretences
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) April 29, 2011 - 12:00am

If few expected the speed and skill of Egypt's diplomatic corps as it navigated Wednesday's deal between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, the response from Israel was all too predictable. "The Palestinian Authority has to decide on having peace with Israel or peace with Hamas," the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared in response to the preliminary accord inked in Cairo. "You can't have peace with both."

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Fatah, Hamas in unity govt 'understanding'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah reached an "understanding" in Cairo on Wednesday to set up a transitional unity government and hold elections, Hamas and Fatah sources said. Hamas leader Izzat Ar-Rishiq confirmed the initial agreement. Ar-Rishiq said Cairo will call all factions to sign the final reconciliation within the week with the presence of Mahmoud Abbas and Khalid Mash'al.

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President's office dismisses Netanyahu warning
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Adnkronosinternational
April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said Wednesday that an agreement between Fatah and Hamas “is an internal affair that has nothing to do with Israel, which is not a party to it.” "The agreement strengthens Palestinian unity and its just struggle to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital," he said in response to remarks by the Israeli prime minister in Jerusalem. Benjamin Netanyahu had demanded that President Abbas "choose between peace with Israel or peace with Hamas," saying such an agreement paved the way for Hamas to take control of the West Bank too.

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