| |
|
PA and Hamas set dates for critical local elections
Ha''aretz 7/26/2005
The Palestinian Authority yesterday set new dates for completing the local authority elections that partially started a few months ago, and in which Hamas scored impressive results. According to official Palestinian sources, the elections committee has scheduled elections for 132 local authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on September 29. Most of the locales in this third round of elections are small villages and towns. The committee, meanwhile, designated December 8 for the fourth and most crucial voting, encompassing major cities where elections have yet to take place, such as Nablus, Hebron, Khan Yunis and Gaza City.
Abbas moves to Gaza for pullout
BBC 7/25/2005
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has announced he is moving his office to Gaza until the completion of Israel''s withdrawal from the territory. He said he would be co-ordinating the Palestinian side of the withdrawal, and mediating between different factions. The run-up to the pullout has seen renewed clashes involving militants, Palestinian police and Israeli forces. Israel, which has occupied Gaza since 1967, plans to start evacuating all 21 settlements in about three weeks'' time. Mr Abbas has been based in Ramallah in the West Bank, since his election following the death of Yasser Arafat. "I''m going now to Gaza to stay for the entire disengagement period to follow all the details about the disengagement from Gaza," Mr Abbas told Palestinian radio.
Palestinian local elections scheduled for September 29
ReliefWeb 7/19/2005
RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 19 (AFP) - Final rounds of Palestinian local elections will take place in more than 130 municipalities in September and December, officials said Tuesday. Polls will be held in 132 municipalities across the Gaza Strip and West Bank on September 29, followed by a final batch of local districts on December 8. Palestinians were given their first opportunity in 28 years to choose local councils in the West Bank in December and in the Gaza Strip in January. The radical Islamist group Hamas made sweeping gains both in January and a third round of local polls in May at the expense of the Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas''s ruling Fatah party.
Palestinian Civil Society Wants Date Set for Legislative Election
Palestine Media Center 7/19/2005
Palestinian civil society organizations on Monday called for reinforcing the legitimacy of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in accordance with the Basic Law by resuming the political reform process and not by bureaucratic orders, and demanded that a date be set as soon as possible for legislative elections. In an appeal to the Palestinian People issued following a meeting hosted by the Palestine Media Center (PMC) in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday, the representatives of the civil society organizations demanded that the PNA sets a date as soon as possible for legislative elections according to the new elections law.
Palestinian legislative elections in January: Fatah head
ReliefWeb 7/11/2005
TUNIS, July 11 - Legislative elections will be held in the Palestinian territories next January, the head of the dominant Palestinian movement Fatah said here Monday. "The elections will take place on January 20 and between now and then the conditions for the vote will have been achieved," notably the scheduled withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in August, exiled Fatah chairman Faruq Qaddumi told reporters here. Last month Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas postponed legislative elections which had been scheduled for July 17, amid fears the radical Islamist group Hamas could score a major success at the polls.
Palestinian concerts spark discord
AlJazeera 7/12/2005
With the advent of summer every year, a cultural tug-of-war erupts in the West Bank. The issue is not the omnipresent Israeli-Palestinian strife, nor the increasingly contentious elections, in which each party seeks to assert its presence. The issue is the summer carnivals. The Palestinian Authority, along with some liberal and secular circles, sees them as a recreational activity for a people in need of respite from the Israeli occupation. The increasingly powerful Islamists, on the other hand, view these activities as an expression of moral permissiveness, fraught with sexual suggestions, an assault on Islamic morality and conservative traditions. This is not a straightforward showdown between the ruling Fatah party and Islamist Hamas. Significant sections within the Fatah rank and file are against what they view as aspects of moral decadence.
Hamas at loggerheads with PA after shunning government offer
Yahoo! News 7/5/2005
GAZA CITY (AFP) - The radical Islamist movement Hamas was at loggerheads with the Palestinian Authority after shunning an offer to join a unity government, and vowed to resist any bid to disarm its members. Khaled Meshaal, the Damascus-based overall leader of Hamas, told the leader of the dominant Fatah faction on Tuesday that he expected legislative elections to be organised swiftly, as he confirmed a decision not to join the government. "We will not participate in this government for it is not the right mechanism," Meshaal told reporters in the Syrian capital after meeting Faruq Qaddumi. "We must rapidly rebuild the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation) and organise legislative elections," he added.
Video: Hamas rejects unity cabinet offer
BBC 7/5/2005
The radical Palestinian group Hamas has rejected an invitation to join the Palestinian Authority in a government of national unity. A Hamas spokesman said they would rather wait for elections, scheduled for next January. Alan Johnston reports from Gaza.
Sha''th: the Central Committee Gives Abbas a Nod to Talk with the Factions over the National Unity Government
International Press Center 7/2/2005
GAZA, Palestine, July2, 2005 (IPC+Agencies) ---Fateh Central Committee decided Friday in its meeting in Amman to form a preparatory committee for the sixth conference of Fateh organization headed by Maher Guniam, in charge of mobilization and recruitment. And, the committee did not respond to the demand of the landslide majority to set a date to convene it, which is likely to be after the Palestinian parliamentary voting The central committee also decided to include candidates of different parties and independents within the Fatah polling lists in the legislative elections and emphasized the importance to hold the parliamentary election before 20 January 2006.
Hamas: Abbas trying to dodge elections
YNetNews 7/2/2005
Hamas says in response to invitation by Mahmoud Abbas to join PA is attempt to avoid having early elections; still, terror group willing to consider offer -- Hamas criticized an offer by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to include the Islamist movement in a national unity government. "The offer … is designed to avoid Authority elections," a Hamas press release said Saturday evening. Still, the terrorist group did not reject the offer out of hand. "The suggestion by the Fatah movement to (Hamas) join a national unity government was just raised in the media," said Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri.
Hamas council bans music festival
BBC 7/1/2005
A Hamas-led town council in the West Bank has banned outdoor music and dance performances planned as part of a summertime Palestinian festival. A Qalqilya council spokesman said it was partly to avoid damaging the grass. But he also said the council had been elected to protect the conservative values of the city, which included not approving of men and women mixing. In May the militant Hamas won the West Bank town''s elections, ousting the mainstream Fatah party. Parliamentary challenge: Outdoor plays and concerts are being held across the West Bank this month as part of the Palestine International Festival.
Hamas to work with PA on Gaza pullout
Daily Star 7/2/2005
Israel rejects group''s participation in Palestinian government calling it detrimental to peace -- Hamas said it was ready to work with the Palestinian Authority over Israel''s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip starting next month, and is considering an offer to join a national unity government. In Amman, leaders of Fatah''s Central Committee discussed preparations for upcoming Palestinian legislative elections and the democratization of the movement on the second day of intense talks. Earlier this week, the committee called on different Palestinian groups to participate in a government of national unity ahead of the Gaza pullout. "We are in favor of the creation of an entity regrouping all the representatives of all the Palestinian forces but that does not have to be done through a government," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.
|
 Conflict..
|
Diplomacy..
PM Qurei: Unilateral Withdrawal Serves Israel''s Specific and Strategic Policies
International Press Center 7/27/2005
RAMALLAH, Palestine, July 27, 2005 (IPC + WAFA) - - Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei said on Tuesday that the unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Gaza Strip and northern West Bank was not negotiated and would definitely serve specific and strategic policies for Israel. Qurei, who was addressing a workshop for elected local communities in the city of El Bireh, asserted yesterday morning the Palestinian National Authority''s determination to continue the democratic process and hold the third stage of the local elections. He stressed that the Palestinian leadership was surprised by the Israeli decision to withdraw from Gaza Strip, and the subsequent international pressure to deal with this step as a chance to evacuate the Israeli forces from a part of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Sharon in France to repair troubled ties
Daily Star 7/27/2005
Israeli premier insists Hamas must be banned from upcoming Palestinian elections --Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrived in France yesterday for a three-day visit billed as the symbolic end to a period of sharp tension between the two countries. Meanwhile, Israel''s Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said that Hamas must be banned from taking part in upcoming Palestinian elections and warned its inclusion would destroy the democratic process, Following talks in London with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Shalom said that it was "important that the EU make clear its opposition to the inclusion of Hamas in the Palestinian election during January."
Egypt bids to broker new truce
Ha''aretz 7/18/2005
An Egyptian security delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip yesterday in a bid to forge a reconciliation between the embattled Palestinian Authority and Hamas'' leadership. Headed by the deputy director of Egyptian intelligence, Lieutenant General Mustafa al-Buheiri, the Egyptian delegation is trying to get the two sides to agree to a compromise based on the Cairo understandings that established the cease-fire agreement in March. The Egyptian envoys met PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leaders separately, because the two sides refused to meet each other. Hamas is demanding a renegotiation of all the issues between the two groups, including setting a date for the elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council that were originally set for yesterday and resolving the dispute over canceled local elections in the Gaza Strip.
|
Human
Rights..
People..
International..
Arabs heed Obama’s call for change
Alaa Bayoumi, Al Jazeera 2/4/2008
If it were not for Barack Obama, many Arabs would not even bother to follow the results of the US presidential race on Super Tuesday. Such gloomy views could be attributed to Arabs’ negative attitudes toward governments and politics in general. Arabs have been living under authoritarian governments, many of them US allies, for decades. And the US’s traditional support for Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, coupled with the war on Iraq, has meant Arab mistrust of the US has dipped to new lows in recent years. Against this backdrop, it is easy to see why many Arabs will not be following the latest news from the US presidential primary elections. ’Offensive’ rhetoric Many do not see any serious differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates who are taking part in the race.
Ahmadinejad battles on the home front
Khody Akhavi, Asia Times 2/5/2008
WASHINGTON - Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has garnered headlines around the world for his defiance of Washington, as well as his rhetorical grandstanding on Palestinian issues, Israel and his government’s alleged support of Shi’ite militias in Iraq. Still, it appears that Iran’s parliamentary elections in March will be determined less by debates over the country’s foreign policy than by rising criticism of incompetence and economic mismanagement of conservatives and hardliners in the legislature and in Ahmadinejad’s office." Ahmadinejad is in trouble, not only because his economic policies have not worked; he has managed to antagonize almost the entire Iranian elite because of his exclusivist management style," said Farideh Farhi, an independent researcher on Iran and political scientist at the University of Hawaii.
IRAN: Ahmadinejad Caught Between Reformists and Hardliners
Khody Akhavi, Inter Press Service 1/28/2008
WASHINGTON, Jan 28(IPS) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has garnered headlines around the world for his defiance of Washington, as well as his rhetorical grandstanding on Palestinian issues, the existence of Israel, and his government’s alleged support of Shiite militias in Iraq. Still, it appears that Iran’s upcoming parliamentary elections in March will be determined less by debates over the country’s foreign policy than by rising criticism of incompetence and economic mismanagement of conservatives and hardliners in the legislature and in the office of the president.
"Ahmadinejad is in trouble, not only because his economic policies have not worked; he has managed to antagonise almost the entire Iranian elite because of his exclusivist management style," said Farideh Farhi, an independent researcher on Iran and political scientist at the University of Hawaii.
Mideast press urges action on Gaza
BBC Online 6/14/2007
The Palestinian press makes an urgent appeal for action to prevent the violence in Gaza from turning into a full-blown civil war, urging President Abbas to call a state of emergency and ask for intervention from the region’s Arab states. Papers in the wider Middle East blame the violence on Palestinian leaders and demand fresh elections to resolve the power struggle between the Hamas and Fatah factions. In Israel, commentators ponder how the country should react to the Palestinian infighting, with one advocating a total withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from the occupied territories. -
Palestinian AL-QUDS --
It seems we have reached the point of no return in this infighting and are witnessing the beginnings of civil war.
Lebanon factions resume talks
AlJazeera 3/22/2006
Leaders of Lebanon''s rival factions have resumed talks on the fate of the country''s pro-Syrian president and a UN call for the disarmament of the Hizb Allah group. The talks come amid signs that an agreement remains elusive on the two issues that threaten to destabilise the country. The discussions, which began on 2 March, have focused on a 2004 UN Security Council resolution that calls for disarming Hizb Allah and Palestinian fighters. The resolution also urged new presidential elections. It was passed in September 2004, days before Lebanese legislators extended Emile Lahoud''s term for three years.
Chirac vows ''voice of reason'' on Iran
Daily Star 3/6/2006
French president labels cartoon row a ''clash of ignorance'' -- RIYADH: French President Jacques Chirac said Sunday the West would still reach out to Iran for a deal on its disputed nuclear file, in the first address to the Saudi consultative council by a foreign leader. The president''s wide-ranging speech in Riyadh also covered Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian elections, reform in the conservative monarchy and the "clash of civilizations" between the West and Islam. "In Iran, the voice of reason that France, the United Kingdom and Germany wanted to be heard on the nuclear file has not been heard, for the time being," Chirac told the appointed advisory council, an all-male body of 150 members.
Palestinian Americans Push Religious Pluralism in P.A.
Forward 2/17/2006
WASHINGTON — Palestinian American activists are vowing to lobby Hamas against turning the West Bank and Gaza into an Islamic theocracy. Anxious about the victory of the Islamic fundamentalist group in last month''s Palestinian parliamentary elections, Palestinian American leaders say that they will push for laws favoring American-style church-state separation, pluralism, equality and inclusiveness. "We are at the time when defining decisions may very well be made in Palestine," said Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine. The task force is a prominent pro-Palestinian advocacy group in Washington.
Disagreement With Gaza Disengagement Sours Orthodox on Bush
Forward 6/24/2005
As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week, cracks were emerging in the coalition of Jewish conservatives that rallied this past November around the claim that President Bush was "the best friend Israel ever had in Washington." Many influential Republican loyalists and non-Orthodox hawks appear to be remaining firm in their support of Bush. But a growing number of Orthodox activists who were avidly courted by Bush in the 2004 election are feeling distinctly dismayed as the administration embraces Israel''s Gaza disengagement plan and presses for more aid to the Palestinians.
Elections give hope to Palestinian refugees
Daily Star 6/7/2005
BEIRUT: Palestinian refugees living in squalid and overcrowded camps dare to hope the legislative elections will directly improve their lives. "I have been monitoring the elections to see if they will bring change," said Mohammad al-Daoud, 21, outside Beirut''s Chatilla camp where portraits of candidates jostle those of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Some 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in 12 refugee compounds in South Lebanon, where conditions are often harsh and permanent citizenship is denied to all. Fouad Abed, 36, complained that the candidate he was rooting for lost in the first part of the four-stage elections that took place May 29.
El Salvador group opens park in honor of late Palestinian leader Arafat
Ha''aretz 5/25/2005
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - A new plaza on Jerusalem Avenue was inaugurated Wednesday in honor of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, despite criticism from the Israeli Embassy in El Salvador. "We are making a monument to the maximum leader of the struggle for the liberation of Palestine," said one of the promoters, businessman John Nasser, as the square with a large bust of Arafat was inaugurated. Migrants from Palestine flowed to El Salvador for decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and several families became prominent in business and politics. Both President Tony Saca and his rival in last year''s election, Schafik Handal, are sons of families that migrated from the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.
AIPAC Losing this Fight
Electronic Intifada 3/7/2005
Press Release, Council for the National Interest -- AIPAC has been taken aback by new Mideast resolutions. Last month the House and the Senate each passed their own resolutions expressing support for the Palestinian Authority in the wake of their successful presidential elections. The Washington Jewish Week reported that many on the Hill feel the Israel lobby was caught asleep on this one. The problem for the lobby was simple: popular support and optimism after the Palestinian presidential elections took the wind out of any possible grounds for raising opposition to the resolutions.
Arabs warmly welcome Abbas election
Middle East Online 1/10/2005
Analysts, officials hail election of Mahmud Abbas as Palestinian leader, pay tribute to strong voter turnout. -- Arabs gave a warm welcome Monday to the election of Mahmud Abbas as Palestinian leader, admiring a successful exercise in Arab democracy and hoping that a strong voter turnout will bolster his position. Analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah of Cairo''s Al Ahram Center of Strategic Studies said the high turnout and the strong result for Mahmud Abbas "gives him the necessary legitimacy for his plans to resolve the conflict" with Israel.
Press Review: ''The hour of truth has arrived''
The Guardian 1/11/2005
Mahmoud Abbas wins but how will events now develop? -- Times, Editorial, January 10 - "After [Sunday''s] election ... there was a palpable feeling that something had changed ... Mahmoud Abbas, the pragmatist favoured by Israel and the outside world ... won a triumphant victory ... to succeed the late ... Yasser Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority ...
|
Economy..
Economic woes stir unease in Gaza ahead of pullout
ReliefWeb 7/27/2005
GAZA, July 27 (Reuters) - Every day seems like strike day in the Gaza Strip -- teachers, taxi drivers, doctors and fishermen have all staged brief work stoppages in shows of anger. The growing number of protests reflects disappointment in the fact that there is no let up in economic hardship despite hopes brought by the election of President Mahmoud Abbas in January and the truce he agreed with Israel. That restive mood could bode ill for Abbas when the Palestinians take over settlements in occupied Gaza from Israel later this year if the leadership is still unable to deliver quick and clear improvements. "There is negligence. There is no movement from the side of the government to provide people with minimal assistance to make a living," said Mohammad Awf, a 51-year-old father of 11.
|
ISM
News
|
|
|
|
