Israel-Gaza tensions: Pilot program to expand Gaza exports falters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Kristen Chick - (Analysis) November 18, 2011 - 1:00am The Bright Star textile company in Gaza used to sew 4 million pieces of clothing a month, most of it for export to Israel and beyond – part of a humming manufacturing sector that accounted for nearly a third of Gaza's economy. But after Israel imposed a blockade in 2006, Gaza's factories fell silent, unable to import the raw materials they needed or send their finished products abroad for sale. » Read more

Hamas-Appointed Court Fines Gaza Banks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram, Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) November 18, 2011 - 1:00am In what could be the first of many such decisions, a Hamas-appointed court this week ordered two major banks in Gaza to pay tens of millions of dollars in back fees and fines for refusing to accept the taxing power of the Hamas government, rather than its West-Bank-based rival, the Palestinian Authority. Bank officials, who boycotted the judicial hearings, said the decision, handed down by a lower court earlier this week, might force them to shut down temporarily, at least, further reducing access to money in this isolated coastal enclave. » Read more