EU, Blair expect Israel to soften Gaza blockade soon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Luke Baker - June 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel has agreed in principle to begin easing its three-year-old blockade on Gaza "in days", Middle East envoy Tony Blair said on Monday. Blair said that after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days he believed there was now a willingness to allow the entry of more goods into the territory. "In respect of the closure policy, I hope very much in the next days we will get the in-principle commitment that we require, but then also steps beginning to be taken," he told reporters, referring to Israeli commitments.

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In boost for Hamas, top Arab diplomat visits Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Ibrahim Barzak - June 13, 2010 - 12:00am

The Arab world's top diplomat declared support Sunday for the people of blockaded Gaza in his first visit to the Palestinian territory since Hamas violently seized control of it three years ago. The visit was latest sign that Israel's deadly raid on a flotilla trying to break the blockade of Gaza has eased the diplomatic isolation of the Islamic militant group. Israel, meanwhile, appeared to grow more isolated in the fallout over the May 31 raid as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak abruptly canceled plans Sunday to visit Paris.

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A Rising Urgency in Israel for a Gaza Shift
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
June 11, 2010 - 12:00am

Three years after Israel and Egypt imposed an embargo on this tormented Palestinian strip, shutting down its economy, a consensus has emerged that the attempt to weaken the governing party, Hamas, and drive it from power has failed. In the days since an Israeli naval takeover of a flotilla trying to break the siege turned deadly, that consensus has taken on added urgency, with world powers, anti-Hamas Palestinians in Gaza and some senior Israeli officials advocating a shift.

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Abu Libdeh participates in Tel Aviv seminar on PA boycott
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority Minister of National Economy Hasan Abu Libdeh arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon to participate in a seminar on the PA's boycott of settlement goods. Organized by the German Friedrich Ebert Fund, Tel Aviv University, and the Peres Center For Peace, Abu Libdeh said his attendance was meant to inform Israel that the settlement enterprise and its economy in the West Bank "are obstacles to the peace process and the establishment of a Palestinian state."

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Obama: Use flotilla tragedy for Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Matt Spetalnick - June 4, 2010 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday the deadly Gaza flotilla incident was "tragic," but he expressed hope it could provide an opening to boost Middle East peace efforts. Obama, in an interview with CNN's Larry King days after an Israeli raid on Gaza-bound aid ships, said Israel "has legitimate security concerns" about the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Rockets are regularly fired from there into the Jewish state.

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In Gaza, a complex, dysfunctional way of life
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am

The ill-fated aid flotilla bound for Gaza this week bore food, medicine and toys. What it didn't have on board were the things that Gazans say they need most: jobs, reliable electricity and a ticket out.

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Gaza Businessmen – Pawns in the Process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Felice Friedson - June 3, 2010 - 12:00am

Ali Abu Shala said he has a great idea - an amusement park on the Gaza beach. “We have a very good beach in Gaza,” says the wiry engineer. “Why not to lease it to a company, a big company for 20 years, develop it and bring good life to the people? Why not?” Abu Shala led a delegation of some 100 Gazan businessmen to the Palestine Investment Conference, which convened in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Escorted by Israeli security forces as they travelled from the beleaguered Gaza Strip, the Gazans came hoping to tap into funding and get their business ideas going.

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Hamas faces financial crisis after three-year Israeli blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Erin Cunningham - May 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Hamas has failed to pay in full the monthly salaries of its roughly 30,000 civilian and security employees in the past two months, signaling that the Islamist organization may be in the throes of its first financial crisis since it seized control of Gaza in 2007. "The government is facing a crisis," said Hamas lawmaker Jamal Nassar last month. "The siege on the [Hamas-run] Palestinian government has been tightened recently and because of this it has been unable to bring in funds from abroad."

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West Bank health and economy up a bit, Gaza down
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 19, 2010 - 12:00am

With a failing economy, rising unemployment and deteriorating power, sanitation and health facilities, the health of Gaza's population continues to worsen, according to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report. In contrast, modest improvements have been made in the West Bank. As a consequence of Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, 98 percent of industrial operations have been shut down since 2007 and there are acute shortages of fuel, cash, cooking gas and other basic supplies.

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30 tons of building material to enter Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am

In response to a special request by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Israel allowed some 30 tons of building material into the Gaza Strip last Thursday to help rebuild a hospital damaged in the fighting there in 2009. Israel has been extremely reluctant to let concrete and building materials into the region since the end of Operation Cast Lead in January 2009 because of the concern it would be diverted by Hamas to rebuild factories manufacturing Kassam rockets.

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