World Bank group appoints new Palestine rep
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 2, 2010 - 12:00am

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, a member of the World Bank Group, announced the appointment a new local representative for the agency in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday. Layali Abdeen will be the point of contact for MIGA’s West Bank Gaza Guarantee Trust Fund. She will also focus on business development and work with local and foreign investors to assist them in managing the political risks associated with their projects in the West Bank and Gaza.

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New Gaza leisure projects focus on fun not hardship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
August 2, 2010 - 12:00am

New leisure projects and restaurants have been springing up in the Gaza Strip, some partially funded by Hamas Islamists ruling a territory long seen as a symbol of Palestinian hardship. The construction boom in recreational facilities has prompted some Palestinians in the enclave to complain that Hamas should have channelled such investment into rebuilding homes and infrastructure destroyed in conflict with Israel. Some 800 visitors a day flock to Al-Bustan, a resort built by a Hamas-linked charity, to enjoy its swimming pools, restaurants and cafes.

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Easing of siege - 'largely cosmetic and self-serving'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) July 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's easing of the siege and blockade of Gaza is largely cosmetic and self-serving. Israel has opened the gates to all food and clothing items but only 150 lorry loads enter Gaza when the crossings are open. Consequently, the volume of goods entering Gaza has only increased from 17 per cent of the amount before Israel began to impose its blockade in 2006 to 25 per cent at the present.

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Egypt seizes 10 Gaza tunnels
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Egyptian forces took control of 10 smuggling tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border area of Salah Ad-Din in Rafah on Wednesday and thwarted a cement-smuggling operation, a security source said. Forces seized a tunnel after receiving information on its location, the official told Ma'an. The tunnels were raided and 30 bags of cement were found inside. The smugglers fled the scene before security forces arrived. The cement, weighing approximately 1.5 tons, was confiscated. The tunnels will be demolished, the source said.

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Gazans want "Marshall Plan", Israel policy falls short
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Tom Perry - July 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Wael El Wadiah's Gaza snack food factories once employed 250 people. Today, denied access to the West Bank market by Israel, he employs a few dozen workers in what is left of a business built up over 25 years. "I am right back to square one," he said. Jamal Basala once employed 20 people on his fishing trawler. Today, his access to the sea restricted by Israel, he employs four. He used to earn $5,000 a month. Today, he accepts assistance from aid agencies and can't afford his son's university fees. "I suffer depression," he said.

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As the Israeli blockade eases, Gaza goes shopping
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - July 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Hila Abdul Wahad, a new graduate in commercial accounting from the Islamic University, was enthusiastic as she window-shopped her way round the eight new stores on the second floor of the shopping mall. "It's great that this is happening in the situation we're in," she said. "We should be proud. It feels that we are outside of Gaza, it's like ... [she paused briefly] ... being in Egypt."

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As the Israeli blockade eases, Gaza goes shopping
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - July 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Hila Abdul Wahad, a new graduate in commercial accounting from the Islamic University, was enthusiastic as she window-shopped her way round the eight new stores on the second floor of the shopping mall. "It's great that this is happening in the situation we're in," she said. "We should be proud. It feels that we are outside of Gaza, it's like ... [she paused briefly] ... being in Egypt."

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As the Israeli blockade eases, Gaza goes shopping
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - July 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Hila Abdul Wahad, a new graduate in commercial accounting from the Islamic University, was enthusiastic as she window-shopped her way round the eight new stores on the second floor of the shopping mall. "It's great that this is happening in the situation we're in," she said. "We should be proud. It feels that we are outside of Gaza, it's like ... [she paused briefly] ... being in Egypt."

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Gaza: Women take on new kinds of work
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 23, 2010 - 12:00am

While unemployment in Gaza remains as high as 70 percent, women have become breadwinners for families as traditional jobs in factories and construction disappear in the thick of Israel's siege. With women increasingly involved in the informal economy, some say they have pushed out men in cases, now competing for the same low-level jobs wherever they can be found.

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Aid ships from Lebanon won't reach Gaza - Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Louis Charbonneau - July 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel warned the United Nations on Thursday that two ships preparing to sail from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip to bring aid to the blockaded territory would not be allowed to reach their destination. "The stated intention of these vessels is to violate the existing naval blockade of Gaza," Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said in a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Nigerian Ambassador Joy Ogwu, the current president of the Security Council.

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