Gaza builders lead economic recovery – with some help from the black market
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - January 21, 2012 - 1:00am

For three years, Wael Arabeed did not do a day's work. He delved deep into his life savings, accrued over 25 years of working on construction projects in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt, to feed his family. He sold his car. He began to believe his working life was over. But now the construction engineer has more work than he can handle. Tossing yet another tender request on to his desk, he says: "I have so many offers, I can't even look at them. I'm too busy."

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Israel Still Occupies and Isolates Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Dimitris Bouris, Stuart Reigeluth - (Opinion) January 17, 2012 - 1:00am

A kidnapped soldier has been returned for over a 1,000 Palestinians but Tel Aviv continues to fall back on the fact that Hamas is still in power. Three years ago, Israel was carrying out Operation Cast Lead that took the lives of over 1.500 Palestinians in Gaza. The official reason for the Israeli invasion was to recover a soldier; the intended purpose was to remove Hamas; the result was wanton destruction that "this time we went too far", according to Israeli columnist Gideon Levy.

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Controversial Makeover for Gaza’s Beachfront
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Omar Ghraieb - January 11, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – For years, it was a dusty, often garbage-strewn asphalt ribbon winding along Gaza City’s otherwise beautiful Mediterranean coast. Today, it’s a construction site, with heavy equipment plowing sand into position, digging tunnels and laying pipes. But if the plans proceed on schedule, Al-Rashid Road, popularly known as the Beach Road, will be transformed into a scenic seaside promenade, or corniche, in the style that has made the meeting between land and sea in places like Beirut, Alexandria and Nice tourist attractions and a gathering place for their residents.

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PA allots tax revenues to Gaza to ease cash crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 5, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Palestinian tax revenues collected by Israel amounting to 150 million shekels ($39 million) will be transferred to Gaza upon their release in the next 24 hours, the head of the Palestinian Monetary Authority said on Thursday. The cash injection is intended to solve a critical shortage of currency in the blockaded Gaza Strip, PMA Governor Jihad al-Wazir said at an address to business students at the Islamic University in Gaza City.

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Gaza Interior Ministry fires 120 employees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 2, 2011 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The Interior Ministry in Gaza has fired 120 employees suspected of abusing their positions, a ministry spokesman said. Islam Shahwan told the Hamas-affiliated news site al-Risala that the employees were fired after several warnings for multiple offenses. The dismissed staff had been given many chances to correct their behavior and so all decisions were final, he added. Shahwan said the ministry had formed a committee of security officers to investigate allegations before finalizing the dismissals. No senior staff were among those sacked, he said.

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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.

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Israel must end the Gaza blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

This weekend the bloody ritual in the south exacted the life of a resident of Ashkelon, interfered with the lives of thousands of citizens and caused extensive damage to property. As in previous rounds, after the inhabitants of the region - on both sides of the border - paid the price of the violence a truce was declared, which was violated in short order. The spokesman of the military arm of Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip announced that "the organization reserves the right to react to any aggression from the Israeli side," and boasted that "it is the enemy who will beg for a cease-fire."

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EU diplomat says aid to Palestinians in question
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Daniella Cheslow - August 25, 2011 - 12:00am

Europe's financial crisis is causing some European Union lawmakers to question whether the bloc can continue to deliver millions in aid to the Palestinians, an EU diplomat said Thursday. The EU is the largest single donor to the Palestinians, contributing about 500 million euros ($720 million) a year to build institutions for a future state and pay salaries. Under Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the Palestinians embarked in 2009 on a two-year state-building plan to be ready for independence by September.

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Foreign funds for Hamas hit by Syria unrest-diplomats
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal al-Mughrabi - August 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Iran has cut back or even stopped its funding of Hamas after the Islamist movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, failed to show public support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, diplomats said Sunday. Hamas has denied that it is in financial crisis but says it faces liquidity problems stemming from inconsistent revenues from tax collection in the Gaza Strip and foreign aid.

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Palestinian PM denies U.S. threat to cut aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday denied reports that Washington has threatened to cut financial aid if the Palestinians insisted to seek recognition at the United Nations. A statement by Fayyad's office said the Palestinian premier and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the fiscal crisis the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) were suffering from and that donor nations should meet their financial commitments to the PNA.

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