Palestinian minister steps aside to fight charges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - November 29, 2011 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian economics minister on Tuesday said he was suspending himself from office in order to battle corruption charges. Hassan Abu Libdeh, who holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University, is set to go on trial on Dec. 12, according to chief public prosecutor Ahmed Mughanni. In a statement, Abu Libdeh professed his innocence and vowed to defend himself "before the judiciary against these false accusations."

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Palestinian Economy Minister charged with embezzlement, insider trading
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Reuters - November 29, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian Economy Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh has been charged with financial wrongdoing, court sources said on Tuesday, piling pressure on Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's beleaguered government. There was no immediate comment from Abu Libdeh, who has always denied accusations of corruption. Under Palestinian law he will no longer be able to work as a minister and his functions will be frozen pending a verdict.

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Israel to reconsider PA tax freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Analysis) November 28, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel was considering the release of Palestinian tax revenues, which it has frozen for over a month. Netanyahu is expected to announce the proposal during a Monday discussion in the Knesset's foreign affairs and defense committee, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. Netanyahu's aide said that the change in policy would be in the interest of preventing the collapse of the Palestinian Authority.

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Palestinian PM: Israeli sanctions starting to bite
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - (Analysis) November 27, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli economic sanctions against the Palestinians, in retaliation for their bid to win world recognition of a state of Palestine, have started to bite: officials said Sunday that they won't be able to pay the next round of public sector salaries that support nearly one-third of Palestinians, and that the damage to a fragile economy is devastating.

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PCBS: Unemployment Up to 26.8% in Third Quarter
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from WAFA
November 21, 2011 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, November 21, 2011 (WAFA) - Unemployment rate in the Palestinian Territory increased from 24.0% in second quarter of 2011 to 26.8% in the third quarter, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Monday. The PCBS labor force survey showed that the highest unemployment rate in the West Bank was in Tulkarm, while the highest in Gaza was in Rafah. It said that labor force participation rate of people aged 15 years and above was 43.6%.

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Towards more trade with Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Fahed Fanek - (Opinion) November 21, 2011 - 1:00am

Supporting the steadfastness of the Palestinians on their soil is supposed to be a firm and repeatedly confirmed Jordanian policy. Such policy is not subject to reservations or reconsideration at any time. However, the details of the current trade between Jordan and Palestine, as revealed by the Department of Statistics, do not support this claim. Trade with Palestine is running at a very low level. The trend deserves to be corrected, sooner rather than later, if we really want Palestinians to stay in Palestine.

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Rabin knew road to peace passed through the bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nehemia Shtrasler - (Analysis) November 18, 2011 - 1:00am

Last Saturday night, I went to the square. I do so every year, as part of my civic duty to salute the prime minister who was assassinated on the altar of peace. Everyone should devote at least one day a year to the frustrating thought that if the Shin Bet security service had done its job and arrested the murderer, we would today be living in a completely different reality - a much better one.

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IMPERVIOUS: Palestinian exchange rides regional upheavals
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from KippReport
October 25, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian stock exchange has proved resilient in the face of regional political upheaval, but is still heavily undervalued because of the territory’s reputation for violence and strife, the bourse’s CEO said on Monday. Since the start of the year, the Palestine Securities Exchange (PSE) has fallen just 1.5 percent, against drops of up to 40 percent in some neighbouring markets, such as Egypt, chief executive operator Ahmad Aweidah said in an interview.

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Jordan’s king urges Israel, Palestinians to restart talks, look to Arab Spring for inspiration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
October 22, 2011 - 12:00am

SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan — Jordan’s King Abdullah on Saturday urged Israel and the Palestinians to look to the Arab Spring uprisings for inspiration and to restart their stalled peace talks. “The future for the Middle East and beyond is with the normalcy of peace,” Abdullah told the opening of a two-day special meeting of the Davos-based World Economic Forum, held on the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth.

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Palestinians Feel Effects Of Frozen U.S. Aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR)
by Sheera Frenkel - October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The Obama administration is urging Congress to rescind a decision blocking some aid to the Palestinians. The congressional decision to put a hold on $200 million of aid money was prompted by the Palestinian Authority's bid for statehood recognition at the United Nations —something both the administration and Congress oppose. The funding cut is already having an impact in the Palestinian territories.

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