Political will is the missing ingredient in construction of a new Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Hill
by Dr. Mohammad Mustafa - (Opinion) May 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Last month, in two separate reports, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) corroborated what the Palestinian private sector has been saying for years, that the hope for sustainable economic development in the West Bank, as well as East Jerusalem and Gaza, is being structurally stymied by the Israeli government.

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PA urges Palestinians to stop using Israeli cell phone firms
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - April 29, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority is urging Palestinians to stop using the Israeli cellular companies Pelephone, Orange, Cellcom and Mirs. But PA Communications Minister Mashhour Abu Daqqa told a press conference in Ramallah yesterday that this is not political boycott. Rather, he said, it is an attempt to regulate the PA's cellular communications market. Abu Daqqa told reporters that the Israeli companies operate in PA-controlled areas without a license, in violation of Palestinian law and the Oslo Accords. Moreover, he said, the companies do not pay any taxes to the Palestinian Authority.

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Abbas signs anti-settlement legislation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 27, 2010 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday signed into law a ban on Israeli settlement goods in Palestinian markets. The move officially makes trade in settlement goods a criminal offense, and follows weeks of deliberations and declarations. Abbas legal advisor Hasan Al-Ouri was quoted by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA as saying the regulations would target "the cancers found in the Palestinian body, which target the Palestinian people's humanity, soil, and fate."

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World Bank report: PA economy needs more private investment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
April 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority economic growth has been largely driven by donor aid, and more private investment is necessary to ensure that the expansion is sustained, the World Bank said in a report Monday. In 2009, the PA received almost $1.4 billion in budget support, following $1.8b. in 2008, allowing for expansionary fiscal policies to support growth, the report said. The share of sectors that are mostly government-funded, such as defense and public administration, rose from less than 21 percent of the economy in 1999 to almost 30% in 2009, it said.

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Palestinian state on track says World Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck - April 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian government is on track to deliver on its promise of building the institutions of an independent state, the World Bank said on Monday. In its latest report, the bank offers a clear endorsement of the policies of Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister and the architect of an ambitious programme designed to achieve independence and statehood by the middle of next year. It notes the impressive economic growth in the West Bank in 2009, and praises recent improvements in the management of public finances.

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Israel threatens to shut off taps for West Bank water
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau threatened to restrict the West Bank water supply if no sewage treatment plants were installed in the area, a UN alert warned on Wednesday. The official reportedly told Israel's Army Radio that "They get clean water from us, and in return they give us sewage. This destroys nature, and I would also say that this is the way that wicked people behave."

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I.M.F. Says West Bank Economic Growth Is Imperiled by Israel and Arab States
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - April 7, 2010 - 12:00am

The International Monetary Fund is preparing a report on the Palestinian economy that praises the actions of the West Bank government and the large donations of Western countries, especially European ones, but argues that healthy recent growth rates are imperiled by the parties that claim to have the most at stake — Israel and the Arab states.

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Tourism up 50% in the West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority Tourism and Antiquities police said tourism in the occupied Palestinian territories increased during March, with a considerable rise in guests registered in local hotels. A police report said 464,000 tourists traveled to the West Bank, 137,000 of whom were international passport holders, while 83,000 were Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, living inside the Green Line.

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Joint Palestinian-European committee to convene on supporting Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 1, 2010 - 12:00am

A Palestinian official announced on Wednesday that the Joint Palestinian-European Committee will hold a meeting in Brussels in June to support vital projects in the Palestinian territories. A preparatory meeting was held Wednesday in the West Bank city of Ramallah, attended by both senior Palestinian and European officials. Reyad al-Malki, minister of foreign affairs in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) government, said in a press statement that the two sides agreed to prepare a joint working plan.

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PNA approves 3.9-bln-USD budget for 2010
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) cabinet on Monday approved its budget for 2010, which amounts to 3.9 billion U.S. dollars. The cabinet, which is chaired by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, said in a statement after it held its weekly meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah that around 50 percent of the PNA budget was devoted to the Gaza Strip, ruled since 2007 by the Islamic Hamas movement, President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah party's rival.

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