As the Palestinians were finalizing the formation of their unity government in recent days, U.S. lawmakers were discussing the legal ramifications of continued American aid to the Palestinian Authority. Secretary of State John Kerry told PBS last Thursday that Israel’s stance toward an expected unity government between the rival Palestinian Hamas and...

• Kindle

While Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says it will be business as usual with Israel after the expected formation of a new Palestinian government this week, one of Hamas’ leading officials told reporters on Saturday that security cooperation with Israel will not continue. The Hamas-Fatah unity government was sworn in earlier...

• Kindle

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas early this morning announced the formation of a Palestinian government agreed to by the rival Fatah and Hamas factions. The new cabinet is made up of 17 cabinet ministers who were sworn in despite what local Reuters bureau chief Crispian Balmer described as a...

• Kindle

Just hours before the Palestinian Authority’s unity government was sworn in Monday, United States Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to express Washington’s concern over the inclusion of the Hamas terror organization in the new Palestinian government, according to Israel Radio (Hebrew audio...

• Kindle

A “top-ranking overseas operative of Hamas” was arrested last week, according to a report Friday in the Times of Israel. The operative gave Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, details about how Hamas operates inside of Israel. According the report, Mahmoud Toameh “gave the security agency a wealth of details” on...

• Kindle

Journalist Khaled Abu Toameh reported today that the Palestinian Authority regards the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as inimical to their interests. In the West, BDS activists often present themselves as champions of the Palestinian cause. Ironically, many Palestinians don’t see them that way. Abu Toameh writes: For some PA...

• Kindle

According to a poll released today by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO), Marwan Barghouti, currently serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison for his conviction in terrorist murders, would be “the most favorite candidate for next presidential elections.” The polling pitted hypothetical candidates from Fatah and Hamas, the two most prominent...

• Kindle

Reuters on Wednesday conveyed statements from Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, doubling down on his organization’s commitment to the eradication of Israel, especially and specifically in the context of an anticipated agreed government between Hamas and the rival Palestinian Fatah organization. Meshaal declared that Hamas had made...

• Kindle

Palestinian media outlets on Friday conveyed remarks by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh announcing that his group and the rival Palestinian Fatah faction had resolved issues surrounding the integration of security forces, as the two Palestinians organizations moved closer toward the implementation of a unity agreement aimed at establishing a single...

• Kindle

Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s Prime Minister in Gaza, boasted late last week that Hamas and Fatah have reached an agreement on combining the two organizations’ security forces. The news site Ma’an reported: “We agreed on all the details of the security file, we are committed to what we signed. We will not allow...

• Kindle