Salam Fayyad catches Palestinians' flak as West Bank protests continue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - September 12, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH // As large protests sweep the West Bank for a second week, no official has faced as much criticism over the ailing economy as Salam Fayyad. Palestinian demonstrators have burnt effigies of the Palestinian Authority (PA) prime minister in previous rallies and yesterday rallied outside his office and called for his resignation. Video from Monday also showed protesters throwing their shoes at a poster of Mr Fayyad.

»

News Analysis: Free Trade Zone with Egypt may serve Hamas interests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan - (Analysis) September 12, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian observers and analysts believe that both the smuggling tunnels that were dug underneath the borderline between Egypt and the Gaza Strip ruled by Islamic Hamas movement, or a future free trade area at the borders with Egypt, are serving the movement's interests.

»

Palestinian Tax Increases Canceled in Move to Calm West Bank Protests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
September 11, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) — In a reversal aimed at ending protests that have swept the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority announced Tuesday that it had canceled recent tax increases. But a union leader rejected the concession and said street demonstrations would continue.

»

Protests continue in West Bank as Israel unlikely to amend economic deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
September 10, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli official on Monday ruled out that Israel would accept the Palestinians' request to modify Paris protocol that regulates economic relations between the two sides, as public sectors went on strike in the West Bank to protest the rising cost of living.

»

PA: Civil servants to be paid half salaries by Wednesday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 10, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – The Palestinian Authority’s ministry of finance will pay civil servants half of their monthly salary by Wednesday, minister of finance Nabil Qassis announced on Sunday evening.

»

Fayyad: Protests prove PA committed to freedom of expression
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 10, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The ongoing protests against rising living costs in the West Bank prove the Palestinian Authority is committed to the right to freedom of expression, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Sunday.

»

‘Forgotten Neighborhood’ Underscores the Poverty of an Isolated Enclave
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - September 9, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY — In the Forgotten Neighborhood, houses have walls but no floors: people sit, eat and sleep on the sand.

»

Gaza: an early warning of disaster
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Robert Turner - (Opinion) September 9, 2012 - 12:00am

The international system is often accused of failing to give adequate early warning; of being myopic and not furnishing the appropriate powers with data and analysis that would allow an effective, timely response to predictable disasters. With the recent publication of the report, Gaza in 2020: a Liveable Place?, it would be hard to level these accusations at the UN country team in the occupied Palestinian territory.

»

Gaza: An Act of Despair
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
September 3, 2012 - 12:00am

A Palestinian man has died after setting himself on fire, apparently in response to the economic hardships in Gaza, his family and the police said Monday. The man, Ehab Abu Nada, 18, left home on Thursday after an argument with his father, who had urged him to find work to help feed his family. Frustrated in his job hunt, he set himself on fire inside a Gaza hospital. He was pronounced dead on Sunday.

»

UN agency: Gaza won't be viable by 2020 due to population growth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 28, 2012 - 12:00am

The United Nations agency that is responsible for Palestinian refugees warned Monday that the Gaza Strip will not be viable if population growth continues under closure. Robert Turner, operations director of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said at a news conference here that the population in Gaza will increase to over two million by 2020. The Gaza Strip's current population is 1.6 million.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017