November 25th

West Bank alone could go to polls
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Jumana Al Tamimi - November 23, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas could hold elections in the occupied West Bank alone if Hamas prevents the ballot from taking place in Gaza, an Abbas aide said on Monday. "If Hamas forcibly prevents them from preparing for elections in Gaza, this is not going to stop the elections from being held. We will hold the elections in the West Bank and Hamas will be responsible for preventing the elections in Gaza," senior Abbas adviser Nimer Hammad said.

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Palestinians line up for dwindling cash in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Ibrahim Barzak - November 24, 2008 - 8:00pm

Local banks in Gaza, under pressure from Israeli sanctions, are running out of cash and desperate Palestinians lined up at branches Monday hoping to pull money out of frozen accounts. But most banks have sharply curtailed withdrawals over the past two weeks and some have posted signs telling customers they cannot take out any more money. The U.N. stopped distributing cash handouts to Gaza's poorest last week. Economists and bank officials are warning that tens of thousands of civil servants will not be able to cash paychecks next month.

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Boom Times for West Bank Economy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Abd el-Raouf Arnaout - December 31, 1969 - 8:00pm

Palestinian businessmen concluded their one-day Palestine Investment Conference "north forum" in the West Bank city of Nablus with a package of seven investment projects with a total value of $510 million. Five of the projects were in the infrastructure sector, one in industry, and one to finance investments. All are concentrated in the northern part of the West Bank where the Palestinian Authority (PA) has proved, over the course of this year, its ability to impose law and order.

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Top UN official: Israel's policies are like apartheid of bygone era
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shlomo Shamir - November 24, 2008 - 8:00pm

United Nations General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann on Monday likened Israel's policies toward the Palestinians to South Africa's treatment of blacks under apartheid. Israel's actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were like "the apartheid of an earlier era," said Brockmann, of Nicaragua, speaking at the annual debate marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. He added: "We must not be afraid to call something what it is."

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Policeman filmed head-butting East Jerusalem residents
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - December 31, 1969 - 8:00pm

The Justice Ministry's Police Investigation Department (PID) recently launched an investigation in efforts to locate a patrol police officer who was documented head-butting two Arab residents of East Jerusalem, a man and a woman, while evacuating homes slated for demolition. The policeman was filmed by an activist belonging to the human rights group B'Tselem during the preparation for the demolition of several buildings in the al-Boustan neighborhood in the Silwan village in the city. The footage was recently handed over to PID.

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Hamas leaders abroad question group's iron grip on Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - November 24, 2008 - 8:00pm

Internal Hamas correspondence intercepted by the Palestinian Authority and obtained by Haaretz reveals a deep divide between the organization's leadership abroad and its West Bank leadership, on the one hand, and the Gaza leadership on the other. In the documents, the leadership abroad says it does not want "to control Gaza completely while losing the West Bank."

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What preoccupies young Palestinian minds
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttub - November 23, 2008 - 8:00pm

The occupation is foremost on Palestinian youth’s mind. This was made clear in the Palestinian village of Beita, near Nablus, at an event held on November 17: the opening of the youth development resource centre, funded by USAID and some private international technical companies.

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November 24th

Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski argue in the Washington Post that President Obama's team should move quickly on Israeli-Palestinian peace (1). Israel allows limited amounts of fuel and food aid into Gaza (2). Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he may call for elections in 2009 (3). Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud OImert is in Washington for a farewell meeting with outgoing President Bush (4). An internal report by the Israeli government reportedly recommends peace talks with Syria (5).

What Obama Needs to Do First
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) November 20, 2008 - 8:00pm

The Palestinian Authority, in a brilliant display of public relations, ran Hebrew-language ads this week, in Israel’s four major newspapers, endorsing the Arab Peace Initiative (formerly known as the Saudi plan) and calling on Israelis to support it, too. The Palestinian Authority is also urging President-elect Barack Obama to put his prestige behind the initiative as a critical first step to help end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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PLO body elects Abbas 'President of Palestine'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
November 23, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was elected president of Palestine on Sunday by a key decision-making body of the PLO, amid tensions with rival Islamists, officials said. The symbolic vote was taken at a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's (PLO) 120-member central council. "I announce that the PLO central council has elected Mahmoud Abbas president of the state of Palestine. He takes on this role from this day, November 23, 2008," the body's chairman Salem Al Zaanun told reporters. He said the vote was taken on a proposal from 75 members of the council.

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