Activist sets sail to protect Gaza fishermen from IDF
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) April 20, 2011 - 12:00am

A small boat with foreign and Gazan passengers sailed from Gaza Wednesday purporting to be "accompanying Palestinian fishermen to ensure the navy does not attack or abuse them." The vessel, Oliva, was organized by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) organization of which Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni, who was killed in Gaza earlier this month, was a member. One ISM member on the ship told Israeli media that passengers intended to record any potential IDF "attacks" on fishermen in the Mediterranean, as well as any "human rights violations."

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Moth attacks threaten Gaza crops
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 20, 2011 - 12:00am

The Hamas authorities warned Wednesday that swarms of moth spreading in the Gaza Strip recently, would do harm to crops growing in the enclave if out of control. It is unknown where the insects came from, an official with the Hamas Agricultural Ministry said, however, he added that he believes Israel was the source, since the moths are largely found in the fields near Gaza-Israel borders. The insect, known as "Vine Hawk-Moth," feeds on leaves of trees and herbage crops, Ziad Hamada said, noting the ministry lacks proper means to control the swarms, blaming Israeli economic sanctions.

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EU opens market to Palestinian exports
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

On the sidelines of this week's Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting in Belgium , EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton announced the signing of a deal that would open West Bank and Gaza markets to Europe. The agreement gives - effective immediately - all agricultural products, processed agricultural products and fish and fishery products originating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip duty free access to the EU market.

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Palestinians seek $5 billion for state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will brief Western representatives in Brussels on Wednesday on his bid for nearly $5 billion in investment to launch a Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority's three-year development plan, obtained by Reuters, requires $1.467 billion this year, $1.754 billion in 2012 and $1.596 billion for 2013. "We have distributed the plan to the donors and they have welcomed it," Palestinian Planning Minister Ali al-Jarbawi said. The plan will be presented formally to donor countries at a pledging conference in June, he said.

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Gaza farmers suffer severe loss due to crossing shut down
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 12, 2011 - 12:00am

The closure of the only commercial crossing point in the Gaza Strip may cause severe losses to Gaza farmers, a farming society warned Tuesday. The Society of Palestinian Flower and Strawberry Farmers said that more than two million flowers are reserved in refrigerators and cannot be delivered to the European markets because Kerem Shaloom crossing has been closed since Wednesday by Israel authorities due to security concerns. "The flowers and those still not harvested would shrivel," the society warned in a statement.

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Committee: Israel to allow more Gaza exports
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel has opened registration for manufacturers in Gaza to export goods to Europe, officials said Thursday. Registration is open for clothing and furniture merchants prepared to export, an official from the goods coordination committee said. Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007 after Hamas seized control of the coastal enclave. The state has defied calls that it lift the siege to allow for rebuilding structures destroyed in a three-week assault that began in late 2008, citing Hamas' continued detention of an Israeli soldier.

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Israel closes Gaza commercial crossing, leaving just one
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - March 3, 2011 - 1:00am

After agreeing last year to relax its blockade around the Gaza Strip, Israel moved Wednesday to tighten the security cordon by permanently closing what was once its largest commercial crossing point. Israeli military officials cited unspecified security concerns for the closure and promised that all goods that would have passed through at the Karni crossing, southeast of Gaza City, would go through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint, the last operational commercial crossing, which is about 21 miles to the southwest at the point where Egypt, Israel and the Gaza Strip meet.

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Gaza banks strike after robbery, demand money back
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 3, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Monetary Authority announced Thursday that all banks in Gaza would close on Thursday, following the perpetration of a robbery by unknown gunmen who stole cash from the Palestine Investment Bank in Gaza City. PMA officials did not report the amount of cash taken from the bank, but said the financial institutions would remain closed until the funds were returned. A statement from the body condemned the robbery, saying the use of weapons against the people of Gaza was unacceptable. The PMA "resents, denounces and condemns the attack," the statement said.

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Gaza Strip banks close in protest of Hamas cash seizure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
March 3, 2011 - 1:00am

Banks in the Gaza Strip closed on Thursday in protest against Hamas's seizure of $250,000 in cash in a dispute between the Islamist movement that runs the enclave and its West Bank rival, the Palestinian Authority. A banking official said Hamas police went to the Palestine Investment Bank on Wednesday and demanded the money from the account of the PA-backed Palestine Investment Fund, which Hamas alleged had been illegally transferring money out of Gaza. The PIF said its withdrawals from the bank were legitimate.

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Gazans hope new Egypt regime will end blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Ibrahim Barzak - February 22, 2011 - 1:00am

A rare euphoric mood is sweeping through the Gaza Strip, where people are hoping the downfall of Hosni Mubarak will give the coastal territory a chance to get out from under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade that has stifled the economy. Throughout the Middle East, the Egyptian president's ouster Feb. 11 has been greeted as a sign of hope — mostly by pro-democracy activists trying to topple their authoritarian rulers. But in Gaza it's seen as a chance to ease the widespread unemployment and international isolation residents believe is caused by the blockade that began in 2007.

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