From the category archives:

Fatah

Netanyahu faces double intifada from Palestinians and settlers

February 23, 2010

In Haaretz, Aluf Benn writes:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is busy day and night, preparing Israel for a fateful confrontation with Iran. But his real problem may occur elsewhere. The territories are heating up, with the Palestinians escalating their protests against the settlements and the separation fence. The settlers, meanwhile, can smell Netanyahu’s weakness and are [...]

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The Dahlan connection – Updated

February 18, 2010

Update – Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, was reported saying: “These statements concerning PA [Palestinian Authority] involvement [in Mahmoud al-Mabhouh's murder] are too hasty. This is not the official position of the movement, that the PA was involved. When the investigation is finished, we will announce who is behind the killing.” His statement [...]

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Free Barghouti now

January 4, 2010

Free Barghouti now
By Bradley Burston, Haaretz, January 4, 2010
Now, more than ever, Palestinians need Barghouti.
But Israel needs Barghouti as well. He is the key to the future of the two-state solution, and therefore, to an Israel which is democratic without qualification, peaceable without biennial war, demographically Jewish without apartheid, a true neighbor to its neighbors [...]

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Barghouti’s release a wild card in Mideast

December 6, 2009

Barghouti’s release a wild card in Mideast
By Joshua Mitnick, Washington Times, December 6, 2009
Amid swirling speculation about an imminent Israel-Hamas prisoner swap, the possible release of Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti could change the political dynamic in stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.
More than any other of the hundreds of Palestinians that are expected to be freed by [...]

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Abbas is advised to cancel January vote

November 14, 2009

Abbas is advised to cancel January vote
By Charles Levinson, Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2009
Palestinian election officials said they can’t hold planned elections in January, which could give President Mahmoud Abbas a way to stay in office despite his threat to stand down — but could further roil Palestinian and Israeli politics.
Mr. Abbas’s threat, and [...]

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Mofaz seeks meeting with senior Hamas officials

November 9, 2009

Mofaz seeks meeting with senior Hamas officials
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz, November 10, 2009
Opposition MK Shaul Mofaz is planning to meet with senior Hamas officials, the Channel 10 website reported late Monday.
On Sunday, Mofaz presented his peace plan, which calls for the establishment within a year of a Palestinian state with provisional boundaries on 60 percent [...]

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Palestinians may need to pursue “one-state solution”

November 5, 2009

Palestinians may need to pursue “one-state solution”
By Mohammed Assadi, Reuters, November 4, 2009
Palestinians may have to abandon the goal of an independent state if Israel continues to expand Jewish settlements and the United States does not stop it, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Wednesday. It may be time for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [...]

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Hamas rejects Abbas’ decree over holding Palestinian elections on Jan. 24

October 23, 2009

Hamas rejects Abbas’ decree over holding Palestinian elections on Jan. 24
By Saud Abu Ramadan and Emad Drimly, Xinhua, October 24, 2009
Gaza Strip ruling Islamic Hamas movement rejected on Friday the decree of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who called on the Palestinians to go for general elections on Jan. 24, 2010.
In a written statement sent to [...]

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Our shame near complete

October 16, 2009

Our shame near complete
By Ramzy Baroud, Al-Ahram Weekly, October 15, 2009
… he post-Oslo culture has espoused a class of contractors. These are businessmen who are either high-ranking officials in the PA and the Fatah Party, or both, or closely affiliated with them. Much of the billions of dollars of international aid that poured into Palestine [...]

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U.S. to Egypt: Fatah-Hamas deal undermines Israel-PA talks

October 13, 2009

U.S. to Egypt: Fatah-Hamas deal undermines Israel-PA talks
By Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz, October 13, 2009
The United States sent a message to Egypt stating it does not support the proposed reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas as it would undermine negotiations with Israel, Haaretz has learned.
George Mitchell, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, [...]

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The pieces are in place, but no one wants an intifada

October 11, 2009

The pieces are in place, but no one wants an intifada
By Tony Karon, The National, October 11, 2009
Nowhere is Israel’s defiance of Mr Obama’s demand for a settlement freeze more dangerous than in Jerusalem, and it is activists inside Israel (particularly Raed Salah of the Islamic Movement of the North) who are rallying opposition to [...]

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Give peace a chance, says Mitchell. Fat chance, says Lieberman.

October 8, 2009

No chance of peace for years, says Israel’s Foreign Minister
By Amy Teibel, The Independent, October 9, 2009
There is no chance of an early solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and people must “learn to live with it”, the Israeli Foreign Minister warned yesterday.
“Anyone who says that within the next few years an agreement can be reached [...]

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Obama’s Middle East mess

October 6, 2009

Obama’s Middle East mess
Paul Woodward, War in Context, October 6, 2009

As Abbas falls, have no doubt that he got pushed by an inept administration that similarly gets weak-kneed whenever it feels pressure from either the Israel lobby or the Israeli government.
Yesterday, State Department spokesman, Ian Kelly, was asked: “What role specifically did the United States [...]

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