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Saturday, May 28, 2011

Fatah, Hamas in Cairo soon for talks over forming new cabinet

by Saud Abu Ramadan, Fares Akram

GAZA, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of Islamic Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah party are to head to Cairo Monday for bilateral talks, sponsored by Egypt, on forming a new independent Palestinian national unity government.

Azzam el-Ahmed, Fatah delegation chief told Xinhua that his party's delegation will hold the first meeting with Hamas delegation on Monday in Cairo over forming the new cabinet and implementing the inter-reconciliation agreement reached in Egypt on May 4.

"We will discuss the practical steps and the timetables for implementing the reconciliation agreement. The priority of the implementation will be for forming the new technocrats' cabinet that will run the internal Palestinian affairs for one year until the general elections are held," said al-Ahmed.

Following around four years of internal division between Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, and Abbas's Fatah party, the two groups together with eleven minor Palestinian factions signed last week an Egyptian-drafted pact of reconciliation.

Earlier on Wednesday, local media reports quoted well-informed sources as saying that Fatah and Hamas agreed that Abbas will be the prime minister of the new cabinet, while Hamas premier Ismail Haneya and Palestinian premier in the West Bank Salam Fayyad will be his deputies.

Al-Ahmed denied the reports, adding that "such reports are inaccurate and untrue. We haven't yet discussed any details and we haven't yet agreed upon the names of those who will be in the new government." Hamas had also denied that it had agreed on Fatah on anything related to the new cabinet.

"Such an agreement is not in our considerations at all because it contradicts with the reconciliation agreement," al-Ahmed said. "Leaking such roamers on the names of the new cabinet and the mechanism of forming it aims at undermining the efforts to finalize the reconciliation."

Fatah and Hamas agreed in Cairo to form a new national unity government where its Prime Minister and all its ministers are technocrats. Despite the leaked information, Fatah leader Nabil Shaath told a local Gaza-based Radio station that there are no problems facing the formation of the government.

"The nominee to be the prime minister must be agreed upon, and this person has to be an accepted person to the Palestinians, to the Arabs and to the West," said Shaath, adding that the new government has lots of missions that will prepare for the future of the Palestinian people.

Meanwhile, al-Ahmaed had earlier revealed to the Ramallah-based al-Ayyam daily on Wednesday that leaders of Hamas and Fatah party decided to hold the municipal elections in the Palestinian territories at the same time in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

El-Ahmed said that it was agreed to postpone holding the elections decided several months ago by the government of Fayyad in Ramallah. This decision came after the two movements suddenly reached an initial agreement for reconciliation in Cairo last week.

He said that it was agreed to demand the upcoming technocratic government to postpone the elections so they are held simultaneously in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The Palestinian Central Elections Commissions (CEC) said it can run the elections in July in the West Bank, but needs more time to prepare for holding them in Gaza. The CEC agreed that voting in Gaza and the West Bank at the same time is possible after July.

Meanwhile, Nafez Azzam, a senior Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza said his movement would join the municipal elections and the elections of the Palestinian National Council (PNC).

"The Islamic Jihad will not join the presidential and legislative elections because they are an outcome of Oslo peace accords that the movement still opposes," said Azzam.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/12/c_13872057.htm.

Libyan local council members express support to opposition in Qatar

May 12, 2011

Members of Libyan local councils gather in Qatar's capital Doha on Wednesday to express their "unequivocally allegiance to, and trust in" the Libyan opposition Interim Transitional National Council.

According to a statement obtained by Xinhua, the local councils representing the western, central and southern regions of Libya gathered to "counter the regime's attempts to cause division and animosity between Libyans of various regions."

They also vowed their unity and continuing struggle to build a new Libya in a two-hour meeting in Qatar, the first Arab nation to recognize the Libyan opposition Interim Transitional National Council.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7377830.html.

North Sinai local government prepares for march on Gaza

Governorate stocking up on essential supplies in preparation for a million man march on Gaza on May 15.

Ahram Online, Wednesday 11 May 2011

Abdel Wahab Mabrouk, Governor of North Sinai, told Ahram Online that the level of preparation in the governorate has been heightened in expectation of a march towards Gaza on 15 May.

People in the governorate are crowding shops and gas stations trying to stock up on rations to cover at least two weeks, because of news that a million will be marching from Egypt and other Arab countries on the 15th towards Rafah. May 15 marks the day of nakba (catastrophe), an annual day of commemoration by Palestinians of the creation of the state of Israel.

There have been rumors that the Salam Bridge will be shut down for one week. An official who preferred anonymity said that there are orders to allow Palestinians coming through Rafah to pass with passports and to allow Egyptians who are inhabitants of North Sinai to pass only with national IDs.

He added that an emergency meeting took place between all local authorities to increase the level of preparation and to ensure that basic commodities such as gas and kerosene are available in sufficient quantities, as well as medication and emergency medical supplies.

Source: Ahram.
Link: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/11843.aspx.

Fatah and Hamas leaders to head to Cairo for cabinet talks

May 11, 2011

Gaza - Leaders of Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party will head to Egypt at the weekend to begin talks on forming a new cabinet, under the terms of the reconciliation deal they signed a week ago, a Hamas official said Wednesday.

Under the reconciliation deal, the Islamist Hamas and the secular Fatah will set up an interim government of technocrats.

Salah al-Badaweel said that once the new government is formed, it will also work to rebuild the Palestinian security organizations, in addition to laying the groundwork for elections to be held next year.

'An Arab committee that includes Egyptians and other Arab officials has been formed to follow up the implementation of the reconciliation pact reached in Cairo on May 4,' he said.

The Hamas-Fatah reconciliation pact ended a four-year-long bitter, and at times violent, rift between the two largest Palestinians factions.

Although tensions between the two movements were high once Hamas defeated Fatah in the 2006 elections, the animosity peaked in June 2007, when, in a week of bloody fighting, Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip after routing security officials loyal to Fatah and the Palestinian Authority.

The Islamist movement took control of Palestinian Authority ministries and institutions in the salient, and Abbas responded by pulling Fatah out of a short-lived national unity government.

Ever since, a Hamas government has administered the Gaza Strip and an Abbas-appointed government has run the West Bank.

Egyptian attempts to reconcile the two rivals were unsuccessful until two weeks ago, when Hamas and Fatah representatives reached agreement on the issues dividing them.

The reconciliation agreement was signed in Cairo on May 4.

The Hamas and Fatah leaders will now meet in Cairo on Saturday.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1638451.php/Fatah-and-Hamas-leaders-to-head-to-Cairo-for-cabinet-talks.

Hamas credits foreign donations as reconstruction begins in Gaza

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

GAZA CITY — Hamas has reported the launch of a reconstruction effort in the Gaza Strip paid for by foreign donors.

Hamas reported $30 million in foreign donations for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Officials said the first stage of the program, located in the south, has begun.

"We can assure our people that the reconstruction stage has already begun practically," Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said.

In an address on May 7, Haniyeh said Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia were contributing to the fund, Middle East Newsline reported. The prime minister said the Islamic regime would oversee the construction of thousands of apartment units more than two years after the end of the Hamas-Israel war in January 2009.

"The Public Works Ministry has begun to erect complete residential areas granted to residents according to specific arrangements and procedures," Haniyeh said.

In the first stage, Hamas allocated 1,800 hectares, or nearly 450 acres, in the Isra area of southern Gaza. The prime minister said Egypt and Qatar would help the project, but did not elaborate.

Saudi Arabia was also said to be helping the reconstruction program. Officials said the kingdom's Islamic Bank has pledged $137 million for infrastructure and sanitation projects in 2011.

Officials said Turkey was also contributing to the Hamas program. They said Islamist charities in Turkey, including those that sponsored the Gaza-bound flotilla in which nine people were killed by the Israel Navy in April 2010, were providing support.

Source: World Tribune.
Link: http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_hamas0564_05_11.asp.

Bahrain accused of beating schoolgirls

MANAMA, Bahrain, May 11 (UPI) -- Bahraini security forces have kidnapped and beaten teenage schoolgirls, alleged victims charge.

In an interview with al-Jazeera aired Wednesday, a 16-year-old girl calling herself Heba said she and three classmates were seized from their school and beaten severely while held for three days.

An officer "hit and banged me against the wall to scream," she said. "Since we did not cry out or scream, we were beaten more and more."

The government did not respond to a request for comment.

The opposition Al Wefaq party charges police have raided up to 15 girls schools, detaining, beating and threatening to rape girls as young as 12.

Meanwhile, pro-government MPs charged Wednesday that Shiite employees have been plotting for decades to sabotage the state oil company.

The Gulf Daily News reported lawmakers blamed Energy Minister Abdulhussain Mirza for lax control of Bapco.

MP Jassim al-Saeedi charged the plot has been afoot ever since Bapco began promoting into senior posts in 1980.

"Employment, promotion and training was divided among this sect, while those belonging to the other sect (Sunnis) were left out in pain despite being deserving," he said.

MP Abdulhaleem Murad charged Bapco gave bonuses to striking workers trying to overthrow the monarchy.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/05/11/Bahrain-accused-of-beating-schoolgirls/UPI-68151305128155/.

China Builds Up Army Capacity On India-Tibet Border

Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Cornelius Lundsgaard, The Tibet Post International

Dharamshala: The Chinese government, in case of a threat scenario with India, now has the capability of deploying more than half-a-million troops and sustaining them for over a month on the Indo-Tibetan border, also called the Line of Actual Control, according to the Indian Express. Last month a presentation was given to PM Manmohan Singh by the Indian Army, disclosing the details of Chinese army capacities and the recent build-up of infrastructure in the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region.

As part of major infrastructure upgradation in Tibet and east Turkestan, China has plans to establish another 70.000 km of black-top roads, to extend the Qinghai-Tibet Railway from Golmund to Lhasa and thereon to Shigatse (close to Sikkim), to construct railways connecting Kathmandu, Myanmar, Bhutan, Pakistan and Central Asian republics as well as plans to build 11 new rail lines in Tibet and Xinjiang, which will ensure rapid deployment of troops or so called PLA.

Also included in the report was information that there are eight airfields in Tibet, including five operational ones; 18 air bases in Tibet and east Turkestan have the capability to put India under range of Sukhoi 27 aircraft.

Source: The Tibet Post.
Link: http://www.thetibetpost.com/en/news/tpi-short-takes/1683-china-builds-up-army-capacity-on-india-tibet-border.

UN agency suspends most Syria operations

May 11, 2011

JERUSALEM — The UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Wednesday said it had suspended operations for 50,000 people in central and southern Syria in the face of the persistent violence sweeping the country.

A UN Relief and Works Agency spokesman said the organization had stopped providing services in a refugee camp in the central city of Homs, a hub of anti-regime protests, and had also closed down its operations in and around the southern city of Daraa.

"The unrest in Syria has led to the closure of all UNRWA services in Daraa's camp and surrounded areas, as well as Homs camp," spokesman Chris Gunness told AFP, saying the move had affected 27,000 refugees in the Daraa region and another 22,000 in Homs.

The operations affected include 17 UNRWA schools, three health centers, two community centers, a youth center and a women's center, he said.

"This is affecting up to 50,000 registered refugees and puts at risk some of the most vulnerable who rely on UNRWA services," he said.

"There are essentially two problems -- one is getting supplies from Damascus to these areas, and the second problem is that, even if we were able to get the supplies there, many people are not able to access these services because of the security situation," he said.

The spiraling unrest had also seen the "virtual closure of one of the largest UNRWA projects in Syria," he said, referring to the Engaging Youth project which aims to help young refugees get trained up and find employment.

UNRWA -- the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees -- provides help, protection and advocacy for some 475,000 refugees who are currently located in camps across Syria.

For almost two months, near-daily protests have railed against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which has responded with an iron fist in a bid to stamp out the uprising.

Since the start of the protests in mid-March, between 600 and 700 people have been killed and at least 8,000 arrested, human rights groups say.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Tunisian police arrest Libyan transporting munitions

TUNIS | Wed May 11, 2011

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian police arrested a Libyan man in a car packed with Kalashnikov rifle cartridges on Wednesday in the south of the country, 80 km (50 miles) from the border with Libya.

A police officer at the scene also said by telephone that authorities had also arrested a second man, an Algerian, who was transporting grenades. It appeared the vehicles were traveling from Libya.

There were no further details on the separate arrests in the southern town of Bir Amir but Arab and Western officials have said that Al Qaeda could be exploiting the Libyan conflict to acquire weapons and smuggle them into other countries.

A senior security official in neighboring Algeria told Reuters last month there were signs Al Qaeda was at work to acquire surface-to-air missiles and other arms to smuggle them to a stronghold in northern Mali.

The Algerian official described a convoy of Toyota pick-up trucks which had left eastern Libya and arrived in Mali after it crossed through Chad and Niger.

In that case the trucks unloaded Russian-made RPG-7 anti-tank rocket-propelled grenades, Kalashnikov heavy machine guns, Kalashnikov rifles, explosives and ammunition.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara, Writing by Sylvia Westall; editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/11/us-tunisia-libya-arrest-idUSTRE74A2OX20110511.