Palestinians criticize Hamas on prisoner swap

Some Palestinians criticized Hamas on Thursday for conceding too much in its deal to swap a captured Israeli soldier for more than a thousand Palestinian inmates.
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Israel, Hamas reached a deal on captured soldier

Israeli and Hamas have reached a deal to free a captured Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, officials from both sides said Tuesday, capping five years of painful negotiations that have repeatedly collapsed in fingerpointing and violence. (more…)

Palestinian statehood: can the UN vote be more than just symbolic recognition?

Israeli’s refusal to accept a Palestine within 1967 borders and Hamas’s opposition make a solution unlikely but not hopeless

Palestinians turn against Syria’s regime, their long-time advocate

Palestinians in Syria are beginning to turn against a dictatorship that for decades used its claims of resisting Israel and fighting for Palestinian rights as justification for the repression of its own people.

Israeli navy takes over Gaza-bound ship

sraeli naval commandos on Tuesday took over a French ship attempting to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, reporting no resistance during the takeover in international waters. (more…)

Hamas rejects Fayyad as Palestinian PM in a shared cabinet

Influential members of the militant Islamic group Hamas on Sunday balked at the nominee of the rival Fatah party for prime minister in a shared government, the first significant snag in carrying out a reconciliation pact signed last month by the Palestinian factions.

Fatah on Saturday nominated the current prime minister, Salam Fayyad, (more…)

Hamas official: Egypt closes Rafah crossing with Gaza

Egypt kept the gates of Rafah crossing point closed Saturday, blocking travel by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, Hamas officials said. (more…)

President Obama to Renew Muslim Outreach

President Barack Obama is preparing a fresh outreach to the Muslim world in coming days, senior U.S. officials say, one that will ask those in the Middle East and beyond to reject Islamic militancy in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death and embrace a new era of relations with the U.S. (more…)

Hamas leader calls for freedom and democracy in Syria

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal who lives in exile in Syria’s capital Damascus called on Monday for more democracy in Syria.

“We want to see more stability, prosperity and a stronger government that responds to the people’s aspirations,” he told France 24 television. (more…)

Egyptian FM: Egypt has no enemies anymore

Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas signed an agreement this past week in Cairo that was seen as a first step toward unifying rival governments in Gaza and the West Bank. U.S. and Israeli officials are wary that the reconciliation, brokered by Egypt, could undermine any peace efforts, since both countries consider Hamas a terrorist organization. (more…)