The Goal is Democratization
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) February 6, 2012 - 1:00am

The relationship between the ongoing uprisings and revolutions in the Arab world and the Palestinian-Israeli peace process is a convoluted mix of cause and effect.

»

Fayyad: Govt raises tax, cutting costs to plug deficit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 9, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is cutting spending and raising taxes in an attempt to plug the $1.1 billion deficit in the public budget, he told reporters in Ramallah on Sunday evening. Fayyad's government aims to knock $350 million off the budget deficit through new measures to cut costs and increase revenues, including an income tax increase now in effect, the premier said. The global financial crisis and a failure of donor countries to honor their aid pledges has caused a sharp increase in the budget shortfall in 2011.

»

A renovation on shaky ground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - January 3, 2012 - 1:00am

Take a walk between Old Acre’s Khan al-Umdan complex and the lighthouse at the western end of the city and you’ll find a tent pitched at the entrance to a large, ancient building. The tent was erected by the building’s residents and social activists, protesting eviction notices given to the residents by the Amidar Company.

»

ACP donates $27,000 to St. John's Eye Hospital in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from American Charities for Palestine
December 22, 2011 - 1:00am

Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 22, 2011 - 4:00pm ACP is pleased to be able to update you on theOperation Restore Vision in Palestine project which our partner, St. John’s Eye Hospital in Jerusalem (SJEH), is implementing on the ground.

»

This Holy Land battle focuses on tourists' wallets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - December 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Reporting from Bethlehem, West Bank— A 45-foot-high artificial Christmas tree towers over Manger Square, and downtown Bethlehem is festooned with sparkling decorations. There's even a picture of a saxophone-playing Santa Claus. But Nabil Giacaman, co-owner of a souvenir shop called Christmas House, isn't feeling the holiday spirit. The third-generation woodcarver, who sells handmade likenesses of baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary, sees as many as 200 tour buses arrive every day from Israel to visit the Church of the Nativity, just a few steps from his store.

»

Ultimately crippling
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) December 5, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority has been plagued this year by various financial troubles that are affecting, in turn, its ability to fulfill some of its financial obligations. The most recent source of these problems has been a decline in PA revenues. The Palestinian budget is usually composed of two sources of income. One is external funding ($1.83 billion annually) from donors, and the other is made up of domestic revenues, direct ($812 million a year) and indirect ($1.442 billion annually collected by Israel).

»

The fragility of the Palestinian economic situation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by David Brodet - (Opinion) December 5, 2011 - 1:00am

The mood in the Palestinian Authority recently changed radically in the space of a few weeks. In September 2011, the attention of Palestinians and the world was directed toward the United Nations, where the Palestine Liberation Organization submitted its request to be accepted as a state by the UN and Palestinian spirits were at an all-time high.

»

Not central to independence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) December 5, 2011 - 1:00am

Revelations concerning the Palestinian financial crisis of recent weeks touch upon three issues. The most obvious one is the seeming inability of the Palestinian Authority under Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to accumulate sufficient reserves to withstand a few weeks' shortfall in income. Put differently, it is the PA's huge reliance on donor-nation funds and on taxes collected for it by Israel.

»

Ultimately crippling
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) December 5, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority has been plagued this year by various financial troubles that are affecting, in turn, its ability to fulfill some of its financial obligations. The most recent source of these problems has been a decline in PA revenues. The Palestinian budget is usually composed of two sources of income. One is external funding ($1.83 billion annually) from donors, and the other is made up of domestic revenues, direct ($812 million a year) and indirect ($1.442 billion annually collected by Israel).

»

Israeli Entrepreneur Opens Online University in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by D.D. Guttenplan - December 4, 2011 - 1:00am

An American online university started by an Israeli entrepreneur has opened an operations center in the West Bank. Shai Reshef, the founder of University of the People, a nonprofit institution that offers free online education to students in more than 120 countries, said in an interview last week that his agreement with ASAL Technologies, a Palestinian software and information technology services company based in Ramallah, was just the first stage of a plan to move the university’s entire back office to the West Bank.

»


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