![]() |
Minister: Israel seeks to retain PA market
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 16, 2010 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) – Israeli policy aims to retain the Palestinian Authority as a market for Israeli goods, PA Planning Minister Ali Jarbawi said Friday. Speaking at a meeting with former Canadian Finance Minister Greg Selinger, Jarbawi said Israel was obstructing the development of the Palestinian private sector. Meanwhile, the PA was working hard to develop the sector as the core of a future Palestinian state, Jarbawi said. |
![]() |
Palestinians earn a living making Jewish skullcaps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jon Donnison - October 15, 2010 - 12:00am From the minaret of the next-door mosque, the call to prayer rings out as their fast-moving fingers click the needles at a rapid rhythm. Slowly forming in their laps are three small, round, white pieces of crocheted cloth. These three Palestinian Muslim women are making one of the most obvious symbols of Jewishness and Judaism - the kippa. Kippot (as they are known in the plural) are the small domed skullcaps that many Jewish men wear on their heads. Kippa literally means "dome". |
![]() |
Can the OECD stand up to Israel?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Sam Bahour - (Opinion) October 12, 2010 - 12:00am What can be said for the state of international law when international organisations such as the OECD find themselves unable to prevent a member country from bringing its unlawful practice into the life of the organisation itself? In such situations, how can law-abiding member countries avoid being drawn into acquiescence? Later this month, these questions may find answers when Israel hosts an OECD gathering in Jerusalem to discuss global tourism. |
![]() |
Is Fayyadism working?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Raja Khalidi - October 12, 2010 - 12:00am Donor nations and the Middle East Quartet met in New York last week to renew commitments to the beleaguered Palestinian economy and budget support to the insolvent Palestinian Authority. Paving the way, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad presented a midterm report on his government's program. He has coined the forthcoming second and final year of the program as the "Homestretch to Freedom." In tune with Fayyad, the Quartet reaffirmed support for the PA's plan and commended its significant progress toward the statehood goal. |
![]() |
Israel, U.S. finalize F-35 stealth fighter purchase
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shlomo Shamir - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am The purchase of U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighters ushers in a new era in Israel's ability to face security challenges, both near and far, a top Israeli security official said at a ceremony Thursday which finalized Israel's purchase of its first batch of advanced fighter jets. Under the contract signed in New York on Thursday by Ehud Shani, director general of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Israel will get 20 of the warplanes for nearly $3 billion and will receive the jets in 2016. It has an option for 75 more. |
![]() |
Palestinians invest $2 billion in Jericho to celebrate its 10,000th birthday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Irit Rosenblum - October 3, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority is launching a new branding campaign for the city of Jericho, one of the oldest cities in the world. Celebrations planned for October 10 will be held in honor of the establishment of the city 10,000 years ago. The city is also expecting to see $2 billion invested in a residential complex and hotels, and the option of an airport is also being discussed. |
![]() |
Commentary: Instant diplomacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI) by Arnaud De Borchgrave - (Analysis) October 1, 2010 - 12:00am Along with instant coffee, instant soup, instant oven cleaners, instant Viagra, instant pain relief from four-hour Viagra, it was only a matter of time before instant diplomacy made its debut on the nation's comedy channels. Some foreign leaders have concluded American youth -- and many older Americans, too -- have tuned out serious news and tuned in comedians who make fun of everything from the nuclear ambitions of superannuated Iranian mullahs to Osama bin Laden's air-conditioned deluxe cave in the Hindu Kush. |
![]() |
Disappointment with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Daoud Kuttab - September 30, 2010 - 12:00am A US State Department spokesman told reporters this week that Washington was disappointed with Israel because of its failure to extend the settlement moratorium for as long as the peace talks were moving. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon used the same words to describe how the United Nations feels towards Israel. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris, expressed the same sentiment vis-a-vis Israel's decisions. |
![]() |
Palestinians forced to claw their way to building Israel's dream homes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - September 22, 2010 - 12:00am In Bethlehem, several hundred meters from the separation fence, a vague commotion is audible. Moving closer to the fence, you can see the full, unpleasant scene. It's 4 A.M. and underneath the fence, hundreds of people are cramming into a corridor bounded by iron bars. The corridor is several hundred meters long and a meter and a half wide. Young men in their 20s push their way next to others over 60. They yell, argue, hit and do whatever else they need to in order to get through the crossing as quickly as possible. Almost all work legally in Israel, building Israelis' dream homes. |
![]() |
PA: Exports from Gaza 'within weeks'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 17, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority will take over the administration of the southernmost Gaza-Israel crossing "within the coming weeks," Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein Ash-Sheikh told Ma'an Radio on Thursday. The official said that 95 percent of the structural changes to the crossing had already been completed, and once they were done the hand-over would be made. |