West Bank high life masks deepening economic crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Noah Browning - July 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Past the Israeli sentry towers blackened by firebombs and the entrance to a refugee camp emblazoned with posters of rifle-clenching militants, downtown Ramallah sparkles. The scars of an intractable conflict and occupation melt away: cafes bustle with smartly dressed patrons, water-pipe smoke perfumes the air and basslines from trendy clubs shake the night. New model BMWs ply leafy avenues beneath villas and tall apartment blocks sprout from the West Bank hills. But it's more mirage than miracle.

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Israel allocates 90 mln USD for infrastructure repair in Arab towns
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
June 28, 2012 - 12:00am

Following decades of administrative neglect, the Israeli government announced on Thursday the allocation of 355 million shekels (90 million U.S. dollars) to repair collapsing sewer and water treatment infrastructures in Arab towns nationwide. Israeli Energy and Water Resources Minister, Uzi Landau, said his ministry had reached an agreement with the Treasury to increase budgets and grants for new sewer systems and waste treatment plants, according to the Ha'aretz daily.

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The new Palestinian
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hamze Awawde - (Opinion) June 27, 2012 - 12:00am

I was born in 1990. I experienced a bit of the first intifada; the creation of the Palestinian Authority and what is called Palestinian self-administration; the rounds of negotiation between Israel and Palestine; the second intifada; the failure of the peace process; Hamas in government; the West Bank separating completely from the Gaza strip; and revolutions in the Arab world called the “Arab Spring,” that changed everything in the region. I am only 22 years old.

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Mideast Peace Will Come From Strong Economic Relationships
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Israel Ziv - (Opinion) June 26, 2012 - 12:00am

Now that Gaza has been set aflame once again, Israel's southern towns and villages are one more time under fire, the Sinai Peninsula is turning into a replica of Lebanon and the future of Egypt is still unclear — now is the time to consider a totally new approach — an approach that would provide an effective response to the escalating problems plaguing us and possibly even quell the extremist passions that trigger the barrages of Grads launched from Gaza, the burning of Israeli flags at Tahrir Square and [protest] flotillas like the Marmara.

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Israel's historic city of Acre faces tourist and settler tensions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - June 24, 2012 - 12:00am

Amid narrow winding alleys, crumbling courtyards and dark doorways of neglected buildings, a work of art gleams within the walls of Israel's ancient but dilapidated city of Acre. The Efendi Palace hotel opened in March after eight-and-a-half years of painstaking restoration.

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Palestinian anti-corruption court secures conviction but raises questions of bias
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Karin Brulliard - June 20, 2012 - 12:00am

A two-year-old Palestinian court charged with combating corruption handed down its first major conviction this month, ruling that a man widely considered a pretty big fish — the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s former economic adviser — had embezzled millions of dollars.

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Jericho business park aims to inch Palestine towards sustainability
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Liz Ford - June 18, 2012 - 12:00am

On a slab of dusty land near the city of Jericho, rows of solar panels are being installed and tested. Eventually, there will be 2,600 of them in the 11.5 hectare (28 acre) area, providing around 300kW a day to help power the Jericho Agro-Industrial Park (Jaip), a public-private enterprise designed to boost the economic fortunes of the Palestinian territories.

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A Marriage Made in Heaven, Except for Energy Issues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Oilprice.com
by John Daly - (Opinion) June 17, 2012 - 12:00am

China and Israel are the most pragmatic of partners. For China, Israel’s prime attraction is as a source of cutting-edge high technology, for Israel, its gaining a foothold in the world’s largest market. China’s interest in Israel’s technology combined with China’s go it alone attitudes on energy issues represent a mixed blessing for Tel Aviv.

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Inside out: Equality in the Arab sector
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Jonathan Rosen - (Opinion) June 13, 2012 - 12:00am

The Authority for the Economic Development of the Arab, Druse and Circassian Sectors in the Prime Minister’s Office launched a large-scale ad campaign on Sunday geared to encourage companies to hire Arab university graduates. The campaign, which urges prospective employers not to discriminate against non-Jewish applicants for jobs, was designed in response to data showing generally lower levels of employment among Arab university graduates relative to their Jewish counterparts, and a number of glaring disparities in certain fields, such as high-tech jobs.

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Israeli authorities 'demolish Jerusalem farm complex'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 12, 2012 - 12:00am

  Israeli authorities demolished a complex of sheep barns in an East Jerusalem neighborhood on Tuesday morning, a local rights group said. Bulldozers tore down the 700-square-meter steel buildings belonging to Aziz Jamil Jaabees in the al-Salaa neighborhood in Jabal al-Mukabbir, the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights said.

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