Palestinian civil war

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Al-Qaeda Is Losing Allies Over Muslim Bloodshed

Backlash building against bin Laden

(Newser) - The Muslim world is getting fed up with al-Qaeda, the Los Angeles Times reports, questioning its bloody tactics and ideology. Even former allies are criticizing the group for killing fellow Muslims, relying on suicide bombings, and its occasional hostility toward Palestinian groups. Second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri was concerned enough to attempt...

West Bank Billionaire Launches Third Party

Vows pragmatic option to Fatah and Hamas

(Newser) - A Palestinian billionaire has started a new party that he hopes will give voters a more pragmatic option to Fatah and Hamas. Minub al-Masri, friend of the late Yasir Arafat, says he launched the Palestine Forum to replace "inexperienced" politicians. But third parties are not unprecedented in Palestine, Newsweek...

Fatah, Hamas Unite for Ramadan
Fatah, Hamas Unite for Ramadan
Sep 13, 2007 2:12 PM CDT

Fatah, Hamas Unite for Ramadan

Despite shared start date for holy month, tensions still run high

(Newser) - Ramadan this year will mark a brief expression of unity for the rival Palestinian governments of Hamas, in Gaza, and Fatah, in the West Bank. The holy month begins today or tomorrow—and deciding the date can cause tension between factions across the Muslim world, the AP reports. And despite...

Olmert Gets Assist From Barak, Perez

Old allies pull Israeli prime minister back from brink of disaster

(Newser) - Ehud Olmer's year and a half in office have been a calamity for Israel—the election of Hamas in Palestine, the breakdown of the peace process, the botched war with Hezbollah, the Hamas takeover of Gaza. But the profoundly unpopular PM, whose approval rating sank to 3%, is actually in...

Hamas Brings Peace to Gaza —at Gunpoint

Civil army rules the streets with show of force, but no law

(Newser) - Two weeks of Hamas rule have brought calm to Gaza—beaches are crowded, streets are choked with cars and donkey carts—but it is order delivered at the point of a gun. The Executive Force, Hamas's civil army, has seized control, bringing overwhelming force to bear on drug-dealers and clan...

Isolated Gaza Goes Hungry
Isolated Gaza Goes Hungry
Jun 29, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

Isolated Gaza Goes Hungry

Food is hard to come by for Palestinians in Hamas-controlled region

(Newser) - Fuel shortages have become familiar, and now food staples like flour and sugar are increasingly hard to come by in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Aid agencies are doing their best to forestall an impending humanitarian crisis, the Globe and Mail reports, but with the main commercial crossing from Israel closed...

Israel to Release 250 Fatah Prisoners

PM Olmert makes pledge at summit with Arab leaders

(Newser) - Israel plans to free 250 Fatah members as part of an international push to shore up Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Washington Post reports.The announcement came at the close of a summit at a Red Sea resort, where Mideast leaders gathered to talk about dealing with Hamas in the...

Israel Frees Up Palestinian Funds
Israel Frees Up Palestinian Funds
Jun 24, 2007 4:52 PM CDT

Israel Frees Up Palestinian Funds

Unfreezing of tax revenues reflects support for Abbas

(Newser) - In a show of support for Mahmoud Abbas, Israel will release about half of the tax revenue withheld from the Palestinian government since 2006. The Israeli parliament authorized the unfreezing of some $350 million today, making the release of the rest of the funds contingent on the progress of the...

Egypt Will Host Mideast Summit
Egypt Will Host Mideast Summit
Jun 21, 2007 6:21 PM CDT

Egypt Will Host Mideast Summit

Abbas and Olmert to meet in effort to isolate Hamas

(Newser) - Alarmed by the Hamas takeover in Gaza, Egypt will host a summit Monday, bringing together the Western-backed Palestinian president and the Israeli PM, along with Jordanian and Egyptian leaders, Reuters reports. The move is a show of support for the moderate Mamoud Abbas-led emergency government, and an effort to isolate...

US Must Bolster Fatah to Defeat Hamas

Peace with Israel will have to wait, says columnist

(Newser) - In the wake of Fatah's collapse in Gaza, and the subsequent takeover by Hamas, the US and its Mideast allies should focus on cleaning up corruption-tainted Fatah and making it more responsive to the Palestinian people, argues Dennis Ross in the New Republic. That is the only hope for a...

US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid
US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid
Jun 18, 2007 8:28 PM CDT

US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid

End of embargoes bolsters Hamas-led emergency government

(Newser) - The US and the EU demonstrated support for the emergency Palestinian government today through separate pledges to lift economic embargoes and renew aid to the Palestinian Authority. The promises follow Mahmoud Abbas' establishment of a pro-peace cabinet without members of Hamas, putting the US in the curious position of supporting...

Palestinian Government Falls
Palestinian Government Falls
Jun 14, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

Palestinian Government Falls

Abbas declares state of emergency following Hamas takeover of Gaza

(Newser) - Hamas is in control of the Gaza strip this evening and Palestine's unity government dissolved, in what the moderate Fatah party is calling a coup d'etat. President Mahmoud Abbas declared a state of emergency in both the West Bank and Gaza, where the hard-line Islamic group seized control of the...

Hamas Takes Charge in Gaza
Hamas Takes Charge in Gaza
Jun 14, 2007 6:28 AM CDT

Hamas Takes Charge in Gaza

Fatah still controls West Bank

(Newser) - Hamas is in control of most of Gaza after a day of fighting in which its forces overran the headquarters of a major paramilitary force loyal to Fatah. The Times reports that Hamas militia surrounded the presidential compound in Gaza City, but president Mahmoud Abbas remains in the West Bank....

Violence Brings Palestinians to Brink of Civil War

(Newser) - Violence between the Hamas and Fatah factions has brought the Palestinian territories to the brink of civil war, a situation that now directly involves Israel, which launched air strikes on Gaza today. Earlier, Hamas gunmen killed at least five guards as they attacked the home of a Fatah security chief....

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