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Gilad Shalit Is Home – You Already Know That – But Have To Say It Is A Great Day
Haaretz:
IDF: Gilad Shalit back home in Israel after five years in Hamas captivity
Gilad Shalit returns. The debate will now begin on “what this means”. Will the one thousand plus reported prisoners to be released begin new violent attacks on Israel? Does it upstage the P.A.’s bid for membership in the U.N.? Does this strengthen Hamas’ hand vis-a-vis Fatah? These questions and more will debated over the next days and weeks.
For now, I believe that we should all be thankful that Gilad is safe and presumably sound.
Related articles
- Gilad Shalit calls for peace. Israel should listen (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
Breaking News: Salam Fayyed Says He Is Going To Remain As Palestinian Prime Minister
Image by World Economic Forum via Flickr
Bloomberg News has reported that Salam Fayyad plans to remain as Palestinian Prime Minister. The significance of this is that Hamas has previously stated that Fayyad is unacceptable, so if this holds up it almost certainly means that the unification deal between Hamas and Fatah will fall apart (as has happened before – and therefore was predicted by many). Fayyad is very well liked and respected in the West because he has a PhD in Economics from the University of Texas, he has cleaned up a tremendous amount of corruption, he has administered the country such that the current economic growth rate is claimed to be about 7%, and finally, his Palestinian police force has worked so well with US General Dayton and the IDF that many checkpoints were able to be eliminated.
Come to think of it – those are probably the same reasons that Hamas rejected him.
From the Bloomberg report:
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said he will resist pressure to resign and aims to continue in office while the rival Hamas and Fatah factions try to form a joint government.
Fayyad, speaking to reporters today in the West Bank city of Ramallah, said he wants to at least complete his two-year plan to build the institutions for Palestinian statehood that are supposed to be ready in August.
Related articles
- Hamas rejects Fayyad nomination for prime minister (jta.org)
- Fatah-Hamas unity meeting canceled (jta.org)
- In Cairo, Palestinian factions talk unity Cabinet (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- Fatah nominates Fayyad to head interim Palestinian government (cnn.com)
Critical Meeting Between Fatah and Hamas Tomorrow re: Unification Government
According to previous reports, Hamas has rejected Fatah‘s nomination of Salam Fayyad as the Prime Minister of the unified government. His selection would almost certainly be viewed favorably by both Israel and the United States. Whether Hamas can be convinced otherwise may be decided tomorrow.
According to the Palestinian News Network:
Dr Mahmoud al Zahar, member of the political office of Hamas, told newspapers on Monday that the Hamas-Fatah meeting in Cairo on Tuesday will tackle all unsolved issues.
It will be interesting to hear the results.
Related articles
- Hamas Rejects Fayyad to Head New Palestinian Government (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
- Impasse as Hamas rejects Fatah’s nomination for prime minister (independent.co.uk)
- Fatah nominates Fayyad to head interim Palestinian government (cnn.com)
- Hamas rejects Fatah’s PM nominee (bbc.co.uk)
- Hamas rejects Fayyad nomination for prime minister (jta.org)
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