Gaza’s Underground Economy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Omar Ghraieb - August 21, 2011 - 12:00am

RAFAH, Gaza – Just a few months ago, Abu Ola, a 60-year-old Gazan, thought the future of his tunnel business was bleak. Israel had eased its blockade on the Gaza Strip in the spring of 2010, allowing everything from concrete to confections into the Hamas-ruled enclave and putting and a damper on the smuggling trade. Then, Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing last May, making it easier for people to get in and out. With business drying up, Ola dismissed half of his 13-man workforce.

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Israeli army mulls letting Palestinians get more guns by September
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Senior Israel military officials are considering what one termed "confidence-building measures," to convince Palestinian leaders not to continue with their planned statehood bid at the UN General Assembly next month, including allowing the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) security services in the West Bank to procure more weapons. The arms would be brought in via Jordan, according to the recommendations, which were listed in a brief that has been forwarded to the government, the Ynet news reported Wednesday.

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New 5-star hotel in blockaded Gaza amid poverty
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Diaa Hadid - August 6, 2011 - 12:00am

AL-SOUDANIA, Gaza Strip — The Gaza Strip's first five-star hotel gleams with marble floors, five luxury restaurants and a breezy cafe overlooking the territory's white sandy beaches and sparkling blue Mediterranean Sea. The only thing missing are guests.

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Gov't financial crisis influences Ramadan's atmosphere in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Drimly - July 28, 2011 - 12:00am

GAZA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Although markets in the Gaza Strip have been full of goods three days before Ramadan, the fasting month, prosperity still seems absent in the coastal enclave as the goods prices are relatively lower than the previous years, merchants said Thursday. The limit purchasing in the markets comes as both the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) government in the West Bank and the deposed government of Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, are going through a severe financial crisis, which led them to delay the payment for their employees' salaries.

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FEATURE-Six months on, Egypt's revolt disappoints Gazans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
(Editorial) July 26, 2011 - 12:00am

They had hoped this Ramadan would be different. But many Palestinians who find themselves again penned into Gaza for the holiday are blaming Egypt, the neighbouring Arab power which, after toppling President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, had pledged to free up travel across the shared border. The dismay reflects the misgivings of many Egyptians about the prospects for reform under Cairo's caretaker military rulers, who appear beholden to U.S. largesse and in no rush to reverse Mubarak's unpopular Palestinian policies.

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Special from Gaza: Building material smuggling triggers construction boom
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm
by Abeer Ayyoub - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza - After marking its inaugural opening on Tuesday, the three-story mall in Gaza City now offers products running the gamut. The supermarket has nearly all possible commodities. Shoe stores with popular brand names, such as Nike, Adidas and Fox, sit next to clothing shops displaying window mannequins with hot miniskirts and vibrantly colored t-shirts.

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New Gaza mall opens despite Israeli blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Fares Akram - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am

GAZA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of people entered the Al- Andalusya mall in Gaza City after the automatic sliding door opened, looking up at the ceiling where cool air came from and then down at their feet trying carefully to stand on the escalator. The people fanned out across the supermarket and the clothes store in the first and second floors of the shopping center. The third story is designated to have a restaurant, cafe shop, children cinema and a video games corner, but it is not yet ready.

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A Palestinian View: We are ready for freedom and independence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Blog) July 4, 2011 - 12:00am

After its last meeting, the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization announced officially its intention to go to the United Nations to seek the help of the international community in ending Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, achieving freedom and independence and enjoying the legitimate rights of self-determination in accordance with international law and United Nations resolutions.

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Egypt should now be responsible for Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Moshe Arens - (Opinion) June 28, 2011 - 12:00am

It may well turn out that one of the positive outcomes of the mass disturbances against the Mubarak government in Tahrir Square will be the change in the policy of the new government in Cairo toward the Gaza Strip.

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A Bountiful Harvest, Rooted in a Former Settlement’s Soil
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram, Ethan Bronner - June 28, 2011 - 12:00am

GAZA — Hundreds of acres of watermelons, orange saplings and grapevines stretch in orderly rows out to the horizon. Irrigation hoses run along the sand, dripping quietly. Apple trees are starting to blossom nearby. Avocados and mangoes are on their way.

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