Palestinian Tax Increases Canceled in Move to Calm West Bank Protests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
September 11, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) — In a reversal aimed at ending protests that have swept the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority announced Tuesday that it had canceled recent tax increases. But a union leader rejected the concession and said street demonstrations would continue.

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PA: Civil servants to be paid half salaries by Wednesday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 10, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – The Palestinian Authority’s ministry of finance will pay civil servants half of their monthly salary by Wednesday, minister of finance Nabil Qassis announced on Sunday evening.

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Fayyad: Protests prove PA committed to freedom of expression
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 10, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The ongoing protests against rising living costs in the West Bank prove the Palestinian Authority is committed to the right to freedom of expression, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Sunday.

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Palestinian protests turn violent in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Nasser Shiyoukhi - September 10, 2012 - 12:00am

HEBRON, West Bank — Palestinian demonstrators fed up with high prices and unpaid salaries shuttered shops, halted traffic with burning tires and clashed with riot police in demonstrations across the West Bank on Monday— the largest show of popular discontent with the Palestinian Authority in its 18-year existence. The violence showed that the unrest, initially supported by Palestinian leaders in hopes of drawing international attention to the struggling economy, risks backfiring and morphing into a broader movement against the government.

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Policy paralysis scuppers Palestinian economic dream
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Noah Browning - September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

(Reuters) - Palestinian dreams of building a strong economy to speed up the state's drive towards independence could soon be plunged into darkness, quite literally. The cash-strapped government of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority (PA), is so behind with its bills that the Israeli company that provides Palestinians' electricity has threatened to cut the power unless the PA pays outstanding debt of almost $80 million.

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The PA’s electricity tab
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

We Israelis love to grumble but on occasion, our gripes aren’t irrational. The spate of price hikes that recently hit us from all directions may be unavoidable due to factors outside anyone’s direct control but they hurt nonetheless. Electricity charges offer a cogent case in point.

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Israeli Oil Firm Seeks to Extend Drilling Beyond Green Line
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth
by Amir Ben-David - September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

The controversial permits for further exploratory oil drilling in Israel that the Givot Olam Oil Exploration Limited Partnership is currently seeking may be another cause for headache for the State of Israel. The Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth's financial supplement Mammon has learned that the partnership intends to apply to the Palestinian Authority and ask for a permit for drilling on the Palestinian side of the oil field — that is, on the other side of the Green Line.

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PA asks economic committee to study price crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday said it asked a special economic committee to study a government memo about the rising cost of living in the occupied territories. The committee will respond to the memo, prepared by the ministry of national economy, within two days. The report focuses on possible ways to cope with the situation amid growing protests. The assignment was made during the PA cabinet’s weekly meeting in Ramallah where prime minister Salam Fayyad and his ministers discussed the financial situation as they prepared a budget for 2013.

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Investor Kevin Bermeister has big plans for Jerusalem, West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - August 31, 2012 - 12:00am

Australian technology investor Kevin Bermeister has had some hits and misses in his career. He founded the popular file-sharing network Kazaa, built Australia's largest video game distributor and was an early investor in Skype. Less successful ventures included the now-defunct Sega World theme park in Sydney and an offshoot of troubled PC-maker Packard Bell.

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Israeli PM retracts from his request to amend investments, fearing public backlash
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retracted on Monday from his request to modify his private investments, fearing public speculation over an upcoming war with Iran would circulate and affect global economy. On Aug. 15, a special committee at the State Comptroller's office authorized Netanyahu's request to make changes to his foreign and domestic investment portfolio.

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