UN report says human security absent in Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 11, 2010 - 12:00am

Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - The widespread absence of human security in the occupied Palestinian territory has impeded progress for Palestinians, the latest UN Human Development Report found.

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AN ISRAELI VIEW: The best of a bad lot?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Gilead Sher - May 10, 2010 - 12:00am

The good news first: after more than a year wasted over trial and error in United States foreign policy, President Barack Obama has set the Israeli-Palestinian process back on track. The bad news is that for the first time in close to two decades, Israelis and Palestinians will be talking indirectly to one another.

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Both hindrance and blight
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
May 6, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian boycott of Israeli goods that originate in settlements is picking up speed. This is a very laudable initiative and a form of resistance that might, combined with other tactics, gain some result. For a start, it hits Israel where it hurts, namely in the pocket. While the exact market share of settlement goods in the Palestinian economy is not known, since Israel does not label goods properly, estimates suggest that it is as high as 15 per cent.

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Analysis: Boycott puts social cohesion at risk
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ron Friedman - (Opinion) May 6, 2010 - 12:00am

While it is too early to tell if Israel’s Arab population will answer the call to boycott goods made in the settlements, the mere suggestion is enough to anger large portions of Israeli society, which see the Arabs siding with the Palestinians as proof that they cannot be trusted. Arab-Israeli disapproval of the settlements is not new. Nor is Arab-Israeli identification with the Palestinian people. Many in the Arab population consider the Palestinians their brethren; and even if they don’t wish to join them, they do seek to support their quest for national sovereignty.

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Boycott puts the squeeze on Jewish settlers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - May 5, 2010 - 12:00am

The man selling watermelons on the main road from Ramallah to the Qalandiya military checkpoint had clearly worked on his sales pitch. “These are Arab watermelons,” he said with some feeling. He pointed to the sticker on the melons, which, although it boasted an Israeli mobile phone number, was written in Arabic. “These are not Jewish,” he said. “And they are sweet.”

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Bethlehem prepares for 2nd Palestine Investment Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 5, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority cabinet allocated 485,000 US dollars to Bethlehem councils, southern West Bank, for local improvements and renovations ahead of the Second Palestine Investment Conference scheduled for June. Bethlehem Governor Abdul Fattah Hamayil met on Wednesday with mayors and heads of village councils to inform them of the PA cabinet's decision, providing them with the requested funding for preparations.

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PA sets deadline to end settlement work
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 5, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority is working in full swing to make sure no laborers will be working in Israeli settlements by the end of 2011, PA Minster of National Economy Hasan Abu Libda said Tuesday. “There are currently 25,000 Palestinians who make their living from working in Israeli settlements. They should stop as they aren’t any different from 200,000 other unemployed workers,” Abu Libda said in an interview with Ma'an.

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Government backs settlement goods ban
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Following Israeli complaints about the Palestinian Authority ban on settlement goods in the West Bank, the Government Media Center issued a statement confirming that the "campaign is implementing the rule of law." In the statement, PA officials reiterated their commitment to "all economic agreements with Israel," but said authorities would not back down from efforts to replace the "illegal products of Israel’s settlement [with] legal Palestinian and other imported products."

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Ayalon: Palestinian boycott to be discussed in proximity talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Zvi Lavi - May 3, 2010 - 12:00am

The Knesset's Economic Affairs Committee on Sunday discussed possible responses to a new law passed last week in the Palestinian Authority, which bans Palestinians from selling or buying products produced by Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said that Israel would urge the Palestinians to cancel the boycott at a preliminary stage of the proximity talks. However, he stressed that continuation of the talks would not hinge on the removal of the ban, due to Israel's decision to commence talks without prior conditions.

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Fayyad calls for lifting Gaza siege
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 30, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister of the caretaker government Salam Fayyad called Thursday for lifting the siege on Gaza. Following talks with South African foreign affairs chief Ibrahim Ismail Ibrahim in his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Fayyad affirmed the necessity of lifting the siege to enable the Palestinian Authority to begin rebuilding Gaza by implementing developmental and vital projects similar to those being accomplished in the West Bank.

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