Gaza, Hamas, Israel

Hamas blasts arrest of its leaders in WB Iran Press — Hamas has condemned Israel for the arrest of the movement's leaders, saying the move would have no positive impact on the prisoner swap deal. "The arrest of senior Hamas officials won't force Hamas to make concessions regarding the case of [Israeli soldier Gilad] Shalit," said Hamas legislator Salah Bardaweel on Thursday. click to read complete article

Israeli Coalition Appears Fated to Clash With U.S. Washington Post — The foreign minister of Israel's incoming government lives in a West Bank settlement and will begin life as a diplomat battling the perception that he is anti-Arab. A leading contender to become defense minister once characterized the two-state solution that forms the basis of U.S. and international policy toward Israel and the Palestinians as "a story the Western world tells with Western eyes." And the potential make-or-break votes in the country's new parliamentary coalition belong to legislators from religious parties that would like to expand settlement construction in the occupied West Bank. click to read complete article

Hamas: We're counting on Obama's 'change' World Net Daily — Hamas is hopeful President Obama will open dialogue with the Islamist group and will employ a less pro-Israel approach than President Bush, the Hamas' chief political adviser in Gaza told WND in an exclusive interview. "We hear all the time statements (from Obama) promising change will come to the region, and that's what we count on," Ahmed Yousef said yesterday, speaking from his cell phone in the Gaza Strip. click to read complete article