RAMALLAH—Despite the euphoria surrounding the recent signing in Cairo of the groundbreaking unity accord between Palestinian rivals Fatah and Hamas, ending their four-year feud, numerous obstacles remain that could impinge on the implementation of a unity government. The Fatah-affiliated Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Islamist movement Hamas still have to overcome mutual suspicion, significant differences …
Continue reading “Fatah-Hamas Honeymoon Could Face Problems”
In one word: Bravo! The news about the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas is good for peace. If the final difficulties are ironed out and a full agreement is signed by the two leaders, it will be a huge step forward for the Palestinians—and for us. There is no sense in making peace with …
Continue reading “Israel Should Applaud Fatah-Hamas Deal”
RAMALLAH – The Egyptian revolution, and the threat to autocratic Arab regimes all over the region, have forced rapid changes on the Palestinian political scene – with major players Hamas and Fatah scrambling to catch up. "We’ve reached the point of no return. A Palestinian state is in the making," Samir Awad, from Birzeit University …
Continue reading “Palestinian Revolution by Default”
JERUSALEM – Security first or borders first: security says Israel, borders retort the Palestinians. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are finally again getting under way. Israel, though, remains adamant that the only chance the talks have to make headway is for its security concerns to be satisfactorily addressed. A report by an international think-tank propitiously timed for …
Continue reading “Israeli-Palestinian Accommodation: A Circle Not Easily Squared”
BANI NAIM, Occupied West Bank – The village of Bani Naim, near Hebron in the southern West Bank, was under curfew and sealed off by Israeli soldiers stationed in troop carriers and jeeps, as peace talks continued in Washington. The only way IPS was able to enter was by taking a circuitous route over a …
Continue reading “Palestinian Authority Has Its Back to the Wall”
RAMALLAH – Cancer patient Ahmed Abu Fuad needs chemotherapy to survive. Muhammad Subeh needs an eye transplant, while paramedic Alaa Sarhan desperately needs surgery to remove shrapnel from his body. But these Gazans are unable to leave the area to seek the required medical treatment elsewhere, and it is not because of the Israeli siege. …
Continue reading “Palestinian Patients Suffer From Hamas-Fatah Rivalry”
This week the Netanyahu government let off a stink bomb under the chair of Mahmoud Abbas. For months now, Abbas has angered the prime minister. He has refused to start "peace negotiations" while the settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are continually expanding. Everyone knows that the proposed negotiations are meaningless and will …
Continue reading “Netanyahu’s Stink Bomb”
RAMALLAH – An increasingly isolated and unpopular Palestinian Authority (PA) has again made a 180-degree turn in the Goldstone report fiasco as it tries to fend off mounting criticism from all and sundry, including its own organization. On Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did a complete about-face over UN-appointed Justice Richard Goldstone’s controversial report on …
Continue reading “Rift Developing Between PA and Fatah”
Jonathan Cook on PLO openness
RAMALLAH – The Islamic resistance movement Hamas’s rule of Gaza is facing protracted political and military opposition from within Gaza, other Palestinian territories and abroad. On Saturday a guerrilla group put down the fiercest military challenge to Hamas rule since it took over the coastal territory in the June 2007 coup when it overthrew a …
Continue reading “Embattled Hamas Shows its Moderate Face” 
