Arab states cut aid to PA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Arab states have cut financial aid to the Palestinian Authority so far this year and the United Nations has warned of a looming Palestinian cash crisis. "The Arabs are not paying. We urge them to meet their financial pledges," said Saleh Rafat, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee and one of the few Palestinian officials willing to speak out on the matter. Arab government officials declined to comment on the issue.

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4 Palestinians to be tried for violating settlement boycott
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - August 17, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Finance Ministry decided Tuesday to indict four merchants who violated the boycotted on products made in West Bank settlements. The four Palestinians are expected to face harsh penalties. Moreover, the law states that Palestinians caught selling settlement products may have their license revoked and vehicle impouned. Despite this, Fayyad's counterpart in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said he believes the Palestinian Authority is not being firm enough with Israel. Hamas unimpressed

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PA reports year's achievements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - August 15, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian government on Sunday published a report outlining its activity in the past year. According to the document, in the past 12 months the Palestinian Authority's government, headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, marked significant achievements in the construction of government institutions and other infrastructure.

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Building Rawabi
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Sherwin Pomerantz - August 15, 2010 - 12:00am

In mid-January, I was in Tel Aviv for a presentation by Bashar Masri, President of Massar, a Ramallah-based holding company with investment interests in a number of projects in what may one day become a Palestinian state. Masri, having lived in America most of his life, moved to Ramallah some years ago to share his business acumen, know-how, and connections with the locals in order to assist in building the economic trappings of a new Palestinian society.

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Building Rawabi
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Sherwin Pomerantz - August 15, 2010 - 12:00am

In mid-January, I was in Tel Aviv for a presentation by Bashar Masri, President of Massar, a Ramallah-based holding company with investment interests in a number of projects in what may one day become a Palestinian state. Masri, having lived in America most of his life, moved to Ramallah some years ago to share his business acumen, know-how, and connections with the locals in order to assist in building the economic trappings of a new Palestinian society.

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Fighting for a culture of enlightenment in Palestine and beyond
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Ziad Asali - August 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Last week signaled the rolling launch of an effort to fundamentally reform the Palestinian education sector. This reform effort is taking place in the context of a wider effort initiated one year ago by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to build the institutions of future Palestinian statehood.

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Cinema Jenin brings movies and revival to a scarred West Bank city
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - August 11, 2010 - 12:00am

For years this dusty city in the northern West Bank was a hotbed of Palestinian militancy, with gunmen roaming the streets, suicide bombers dispatched to Israel and lethal Israeli army raids leaving swaths of destruction. Now, the renovation and reopening of a movie theater closed for 23 years is being celebrated as a harbinger of change and cultural revival. It is the latest symbol of the transformation of this city, where Palestinian security forces are firmly in control and the local economy is improving after the easing of Israeli-imposed travel restrictions.

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The Implications of the Fayyad-Plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from ISN Security Watch
by Andrin Hauri - August 4, 2010 - 12:00am

With the security situation in the West Bank improving, Benjamin Netanyahu promoted the idea of an “economic peace” with the Palestinians during the last Israeli parliamentary election in 2008 and again in his foreign policy speech to the nation in June 2009, arguing that economics, not politics, is the key to peace. Underlying this talk is the logic that “economic peace will support and bolster the achievement of political settlements down the line.”

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Ramallah building boom symbolizes West Bank growth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
August 2, 2010 - 12:00am

The din of earth-movers leveling the hilly terrain of Ramallah for construction is unremitting as modern buildings shoot up all over the West Bank city. Once a mere village on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Ramallah has seen its population double in the last 10 years and land prices surge, in part due to the fact it falls within the 40 percent of the West Bank where Palestinians can build without Israeli permission.

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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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