March 30th

PNA approves 3.9-bln-USD budget for 2010
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) cabinet on Monday approved its budget for 2010, which amounts to 3.9 billion U.S. dollars. The cabinet, which is chaired by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, said in a statement after it held its weekly meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah that around 50 percent of the PNA budget was devoted to the Gaza Strip, ruled since 2007 by the Islamic Hamas movement, President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah party's rival.

»

Gaza bank 'held up' in broad daylight... by police
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 29, 2010 - 12:00am

When gunmen burst into Gaza's Palestine Bank on Monday and demanded a quarter of a million dollars the branch manager had to give in -- he couldn't say no to the police. The incident in Gaza City took place when police run by the Islamist Hamas movement went to impose a court order unfreezing the assets of a health charity at the heart of a bitter factional dispute. When the Friends of the Patient Society, which operates a small hospital in the impoverished territory, was taken over by Hamas earlier this year, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank blocked the assets.

»

Gaza banks on strike after de facto raid on branch
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

All banks across the Gaza Strip announced a general strike on Tuesday, protesting an attack against a local branch on Monday by de facto police. Banks announced action after the Monetary Authority called on branches to respond to the attack against a Palestine Bank in the Ar-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, in which 1 million shekels was seized by de facto security forces who were executing a court order demanding the branch return the amount to the Patients' Friends Society.

»

Report: 55% of Israeli settlers in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics issued a statement Tuesday to mark Land Day, estimating that more than 85% of Palestinian land remains under Israeli control, with 55% of settlers in the West Bank centered in the Jerusalem governorate.

»

Gaza: Child killed by Israeli fire, several reported injured
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

A child was shot and killed by Israeli forces east of the Yasser Arafat International Airport in Rafah on Tuesday, medics said. Muawiya Hassanein, director of ambulance and emergency services in Gaza, said Muhammad Zen Ismail Al-Farmawi, 15, was shot dead near the southeasterly border by Israeli forces. Hassanein said ambulances had been unable to retrieve the body because of ongoing clashes in the area.

»

Rachel Corrie's family takes case to court in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The American parents sit stoically in a sky-lit courtroom, listening to testimony about how an Israeli military bulldozer crushed their daughter to death seven years ago. They hear about the dangerous game of chicken played for several hours that winter afternoon in 2003, between bulldozers and international activists trying to protect Palestinian homes, before Rachel Corrie disappeared under a creeping mound of dirt.

»

Ministers Reaffirm Jerusalem Stance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - March 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Senior Israeli ministers have publicly rejected American demands for curbs on building in Jewish areas of East Jerusalem and other concessions to the Palestinians, indicating no imminent end to the rift between Israel and the United States. Benny Begin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner cabinet — which has met twice since Mr. Netanyahu returned from Washington last week — said Monday on Israel Radio that the status of East Jerusalem should be resolved in direct negotiations with the Palestinians, not in advance.

»

Lo, the Mideast Moves
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) March 29, 2010 - 12:00am

The passage of the U.S. health care bill is a major foreign policy victory for President Barack Obama. It empowers him by demonstrating his ability to deliver. Nowhere is that more important than in the Middle East. All the global mutterings about the “Carterization” of Obama, and the talk (widespread in Israel) of kicking the can down the road and so getting through the “garbage time” of a one-term president — that is suddenly yesterday’s chatter.

»

March 29th

The New York Times says the confrontation over settlements reveals deeper US-Israel rifts, and calls the administration's attitude "refreshing." Tom Friedman says peace is considered a necessity by the US but a hobby by Israel. Arab leaders consider their options. The Christian Science Monitor says PM Netanyahu faces growing challenges on many fronts. Politico reports on deep divisions within the administration. Israeli settlers have taken over the front of a Palestinian home. A new poll shows Israelis concerned about their international reputation. At the urging of the PA, the Arab League reiterates commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative. Israeli officials are concerned the US may impose a settlement. David Landau says Israel is sliding towards McCarthyism and racism. Gideon Levy says Israel should thank Pres. Obama for acting like a true friend. Alon Pinkas says Obama is pro-Israel. PM Netanyahu denounces attacks against Pres. Obama by his allies in the Israeli media. Israeli posters call for the elimination of the Haram al-Sharif. The PA fires hundreds of Hamas-linked educators. The BBC says the US is considering not vetoing a UN resolution on Jerusalem.

On Passover, Israel concerned over world standing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Aron Heller - March 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Nearly one out of every two Israelis thinks the country's international standing is poor following Israel's most serious crisis with the United States in decades, according to a poll published Monday on the eve of the Passover holiday. As Jews around the world were making last-minute preparations for the spring festival — which marks the biblical story of the Hebrews' exodus from Egypt — a poll in the Maariv daily showed increasing concern following the open rift between the governments of the world's two largest Jewish centers.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017