Fatah

The death of Fatah and the future of Palestine

by News Sources 01.19.2013

Dalia Hatuqa writes: After nearly a half-century of existence, Fatah has left many loyalists and critics alike pondering its accomplishments. On New Year’s Eve, the Palestinian political party — which has led the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for decades and currently holds the presidency of the Palestianian Authority (PA) — celebrated its 48th anniversary. In [...]

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Fatah’s support in West Bank continues to dwindle

by News Sources 10.21.2012

The Associated Press reports: Palestinian election officials said Sunday that voters choosing new local councils in the West Bank rebuffed candidates from President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement in five of the 11 main towns, an apparent blow to the Palestinian leader. Fatah had hoped to revive its flagging political legitimacy with Saturday’s municipal elections, the [...]

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Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas to form unity government

by News Sources 02.06.2012

The Guardian reports: The rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have agreed to form a new unity government in the West Bank and Gaza, which will be headed by Mahmoud Abbas, it was announced on Monday. Reconciliation talks between the two factions have struggled to make progress since an agreement in principle was signed last [...]

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West Bank theatre founder wanted by Israel after amnesty deal revoked

by News Sources 01.02.2012

The Guardian reports: A former Palestinian militant who renounced violence in favour of “cultural resistance” is in custody after Israel apparently revoked an amnesty deal, in a move seen by his associates as part of a campaign of harassment against a radical West Bank theatre. Zakaria Zubeidi, a former of leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs [...]

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Hamas forces ordered to cease attacks on Israeli targets, Palestinian sources say

by News Sources 12.30.2011

Haaretz reports: Hamas leader Khaled Meshal has instructed the group’s military wing to cease attacks on Israeli targets, senior sources in Fatah say. The sources say Meshal issued the order based on understandings between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Meshal during their recent talks in Cairo. Israeli defense sources say they are unaware of such [...]

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Israel shouldn’t ignore Palestinian reconciliation deal

by News Sources 12.28.2011

Zvi Bar’el writes: [T]hanks to Syria’s murderousness, along with help from Egypt and support from Jordan, Hamas is reexamining the map of the region’s political topography and changing course: no more armed struggle against Israel, but a popular struggle, meaning demonstrations and civil disobedience, as well as a willingness to drop its previous preconditions for [...]

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Hamas’s Haniya applauds, Israel denounces PLO unity moves

by News Sources 12.24.2011

AFP reports: The Hamas premier of Gaza, Ismail Haniya, praised steps toward reconciliation taken by the Islamist group and its former rival Fatah, which were angrily denounced in Israel. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal took steps in Cairo on Thursday towards reforming the Fatah-dominated Palestine Liberation Organisation, such that Hamas could [...]

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Hamas edges closer to the mainstream: agreeing to nonviolence, opening the door to recognizing Israel

by News Sources 11.27.2011

Time magazine reports: The leaders of the two biggest Palestinian parties met in Cairo on Thanksgiving, and just going by the headlines afterward, you’d have thought nothing had happened. “Palestinians talk unity, no sign of progress,” said Reuters. AP: “Palestinian rivals talk, but fail to resolve rifts.” But read the stories, and it becomes clear [...]

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New winds in Mideast favor Hamas

by News Sources 11.23.2011

The New York Times reports: For years, the imposing black gate that sealed the border between Egypt and Gaza symbolized the pain and isolation that decades of conflict have wrought on this tiny coastal strip, especially under Hamas in recent years. But recently, the gate has come to represent a new turn for the increasingly [...]

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The problem with Palestinian political leadership

by News Sources 09.01.2011

Ben White writes: For a few months now, discussion of Palestine/Israel has focused on the looming UN vote on Palestinian statehood, but this is obscuring more fundamental problems in the Palestinian political arena – of which the forthcoming UN vote is a symptom. In three critical areas, there are significant flaws hampering Palestinian political leadership. [...]

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Eyes open in Gaza, June 2011

by News Sources 06.23.2011

Helena Cobban writes: The Gaza Strip is a heavily urbanized sliver of land, some 30 miles long, that nestles against the southeast corner of the Mediterranean and that for many reasons– including the fact that more than 75% of its 1.6 million are refugees from within what is now Israel– has always been a crucible [...]

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Fayyad to stay on as Palestinian prime minister

by News Sources 06.22.2011

DPA reports: Salam Fayyad on Tuesday dismissed reports that he was thinking of stepping down as Palestinian prime minister after the Islamist Hamas movement rejected him as a candidate to run the new government. The Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas had insisted on Fayyad staying as prime minister. Abbas told a Lebanese television station [...]

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Hamas rejects Fatah nominee for PM

by News Sources 06.13.2011

BBC News reports: The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has rejected its rival Fatah’s nomination of Salam Fayyad as prime minister in a transitional government. The decision came hours after Fatah agreed to back Mr Fayyad, who currently heads the Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank. Delegates from the two factions are due to meet [...]

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Hamas considers hands-off approach

by News Sources 06.09.2011

The Associated Press reports: After four years of turbulent rule in the Gaza Strip, the Islamic militant group Hamas is weighing a new strategy of not directly participating in future governments even if it wins elections — an approach aimed at avoiding isolation by the world community and allowing for continued economic aid. Hamas officials [...]

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The untold story of the deal that shocked the Middle East

by News Sources 06.07.2011

Robert Fisk reports: Secret meetings between Palestinian intermediaries, Egyptian intelligence officials, the Turkish foreign minister, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal – the latter requiring a covert journey to Damascus with a detour round the rebellious city of Deraa – brought about the Palestinian unity which has so disturbed both Israelis and [...]

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A Palestinian revolt in the making?

by News Sources 05.26.2011

Jesse Rosenfeld and Joseph Dana write: At 10:30 on May 15, two battalions of Israeli combat soldiers opened fire with tear gas and rubber bullets on hundreds of unarmed Palestinian demonstrators at the Qalandia checkpoint dividing Ramallah from Jerusalem, sending people scrambling into the adjacent refugee camp. These were the opening shots of Israel’s response [...]

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Egypt to open Rafah crossing permanently

by News Sources 05.25.2011

The Associated Press reports: Egypt’s decision Wednesday to end its blockade of Gaza by opening the only crossing to the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory this weekend could ease the isolation of 1.4 million Palestinians there. It also puts the new Egyptian regime at odds with Israel, which insists on careful monitoring of people and goods entering [...]

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Welcome Hamas’s conciliation with Fatah

by News Sources 05.24.2011

Musa Abumarzuq, deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau in Damascus, writes: The birth of the Cairo reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas was slow and painful. But Palestinians welcomed its arrival. The tragic division which occurred in our national movement constituted a chapter we hope will never happen again. It never occurred to us that [...]

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News roundup — May 12

by News Sources 05.12.2011

Sunni monarchies close ranks Reports that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is considering some form of membership for two non-Gulf states – Jordan and Morocco – confirm that the conservative Sunni monarchies of the Middle East are closing ranks against Iran, Shiite-led Iraq and the democratic wave sweeping the region. GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani [...]

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News roundup — May 9

by News Sources 05.09.2011

Bin Laden’s death doesn’t end his fear-mongering value Glenn Greenwald writes: On Friday, government officials anonymously claimed that “a rushed examination” of the “trove” of documents and computer files taken from the bin Laden home prove — contrary to the widely held view that he “had been relegated to an inspirational figure with little role [...]

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Palestinian reconciliation

by News Sources 05.07.2011

Daniel Levy writes: The Palestinian factions have reached a power-sharing deal – albeit a fragile one. Regional developments helped, affecting the calculations of both Fatah and Hamas. The role of post-Mubarak Egypt and its emerging independent regional policy cannot be underestimated. Israel’s current government, though, is key to the glue binding Fatah and Hamas together. [...]

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News roundup — May 1

by Paul Woodward 05.01.2011

Gaddafi’s son’s killing puts Nato in line of fire The Libyan regime’s claims that Nato is attempting to assassinate Muammar Gaddafi have intensified following the apparent death of one of the leader’s sons and three of his grandchildren in an air strike on Tripoli. Gaddafi was at the one-storey house in a residential area of [...]

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News roundup — April 30

by Paul Woodward 04.30.2011

Syrians escaping violence flee to Turkey About 250 people raced across the Syrian border into Turkey, government officials said Saturday, a flight that reflects the fear and violence gripping the Arab nation. The people hustled to the southern Turkish Yaylidagi district in Hatay province on Friday afternoon, according to local and federal government officials. Turkish [...]

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News roundup — April 29

by Paul Woodward 04.29.2011

Scores killed on Syria’s ‘day of rage’ Dozens of people have been shot dead by Syrian security forces, activists claim, as tens of thousands took part in anti-government rallies dubbed a “day of rage”. Activists said at least 50 protesters were killed across the country on Friday, although Al Jazeera cannot independently verify the death [...]

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