Gaza ministry to investigate journalist complaints
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 10, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Gaza Ministry of Interior will launch an inquiry into complaints by journalists against reporting restrictions in the coastal enclave, a spokesman said Wednesday. Interior minister Fathi Hammad issued the decision to form the committee, ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan said. He called on the media to cooperate with the committee.

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West Bank, Gaza university staff to strike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 10, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- University staff will go on strike Tuesday over ongoing wage disputes with the Ministry of Education, a union chief said Thursday. Amjad Barham, head of the union for university professors and staff, told Ma'an that staff in the West Bank and Gaza would strike on Tuesday and for two days the following week. He said the ministry continued to ignore the union's demands, despite a meeting on Wednesday with Minister of Education Ali Jarbawi.

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Hamas in transition
In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - October 9, 2012 - 12:00am

The recent exchange of attacks between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip is unlikely to lead to a broader conflict, but it helps illuminate some of the dramatic changes happening within Hamas. It is yet another indication of the increasing willingness of Hamas factions in Gaza to resume not only countenancing but participating in rocket attacks against Israel. This, in turn, reflects the increasing influence and independence of more militant elements within the organization and their strategy for trying to wrest control of Hamas away from externally-based leaders. 

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Will Palestinians accept Romney's outstretched hand?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - October 9, 2012 - 12:00am

Tel Aviv, Israel Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has softened his message to Palestinians, even as he makes mending ties with Israel a main foreign policy plank.

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Sakhnin incitement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) October 3, 2012 - 12:00am

The country’s Arab parliamentarians managed this week to surpass even their own most strident incitement against the state that bankrolls them and guarantees their rights to subvert it. Speaking in Sakhnin at the 12th memorial to the 13 Arabs shot dead during the October 2000 riots, MKs Ahmed Tibi and Taleb a-Sanaa in effect agitated for violent vengeance, thereby ramping up already inordinately confrontational rhetoric.

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Is This a Palestinian Spring, Or a Coming Third Intifada?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Hayat
by Nassif Hitti - (Analysis) October 3, 2012 - 12:00am

Are we witnessing the harbingers of a “Palestinian Spring” or the first signs of a long-awaited third Palestinian intifada, whose triggers — many observers say — come from the Palestinian issue itself?

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Who "Froze" The Peace Process?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Peter Beinart - (Opinion) October 3, 2012 - 12:00am

Jeff Goldberg has a new Bloomberg column arguing that President Obama has not done enough to support the rebels in Syria, which had me mostly nodding in agreement until I reached this offhand comment about Israel: "Obama was wrong to draw a line in the sand over settlements, which are a derivative issue (if the Israelis and Palestinians settle their borders, the settlement issue will also be solved). But because he made it an issue without a thought to follow-up, he managed to freeze the process."

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PA preparing to set minimum wage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 3, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority will announce a minimum wage on October 15, the minister of labor said Tuesday. Ahmad Majdalani declined to reveal figures, but told Ma'an that detailed discussions on monthly, daily and hourly minimum wages had been held for two months. Palestinian labor law regarding internships and probation contracts had also been considered, Majdalani said. "We are close to reaching an agreement on the minimum wages," he said.

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Prime Minister in Gaza Likely To Become Hamas Leader
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Hayat
by Fathi Sabbah - October 2, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian sources told Al-Hayat that "[the Prime Minister in Gaza] Ismail Haniyeh is likely to be elected as chairman of the executive committee of the Hamas movement in the next few days or weeks, thus succeeding the current head of the movement’s political bureau, Khaled Meshaal.” The sources said that the name of the new chairman of the executive committee will likely remain a secret.

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PA finance ministry to cut fuel prices from Oct. 1
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 1, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Ministry of Finance announced Sunday that fuel prices are set to be reduced, a statement said. The price cuts, which will be implemented on Oct. 1, will see a liter of diesel reduced from 6.95 shekels ($1.77) to 6.70 ($1.70). A liter of benzene will now cost 7.60 shekels ($1.93), down from 7.98 shekels ($2), and a 12kg canister of domestic-use gas will be reduced to 64 shekels ($16), down from 65.

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