Palestinians Cry ‘Feed My Children’ as Abbas Rule Imperiled
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Jonathan Ferziger, Fadwa Hodali - October 16, 2012 - 12:00am

In the Palestinian city of Ramallah, protesters thronged the streets this month shouting “feed my children” after the government once again failed to pay 170,000 civil servants their monthly salaries on time. In Hebron to the south, hundreds of demonstrators burned tires in September to protest the economic squeeze, while in Bethlehem residents tore down road signs to show their anger.

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New iPhones snapped up in Gaza despite high prices, poverty
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
October 15, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (Reuters) -- Apple's new iPhone 5 is selling well in the Gaza Strip despite inflated prices, reaching the enclave via smuggling tunnels even before high-tech hub Israel next door. The cutting edge smart phone is being snapped up for almost double what it costs in the United States, its price jacked up by middlemen on its circuitous delivery route from Dubai via tunnels linking the blockaded territory with Egypt.

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All-Female Ticket Aims to Be Heard, if Not Seen
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - October 14, 2012 - 12:00am

HEBRON, West Bank — The faces of five men in business suits and one woman in a white head scarf beam under the slogan “Modern Hebron” on campaign banners along the streets of this famously conservative city ahead of local elections scheduled for Saturday. Other banners saying “Hebron Independents” feature 12 less formal photos, including three women, with looks more stern than smiling.

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Rights groups: Protect Palestinian olive trees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - October 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Five human rights groups on Thursday penned an urgent letter to the IDF and the police urging security forces to do more to protect Palestinian olive trees in the West Bank. Although the olive harvest only began on Wednesday, there have been a high number of vandalism incidents this week starting on Sunday, said B’Tselem spokeswoman Sarit Michaeli. Her organization – along with Rabbis for Human Rights, Yesh Din, Association of Civil Rights in Israel and Hamoked – plan to send their letter to the security forces in the coming days.

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Anti-corruption commission pursues PLO land theft
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 11, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority's anti-corruption commission is working to retrieve PLO-owned land registered to individual PLO leaders, commission chief Rafiq Natsha said Wednesday. So far in 2012, the commission has recovered around 400 dunums of PLO -owned land, Natsha told Ma'an. In the past, the PLO's land was registered as the private property of PLO leaders, some of whom have voluntarily approached the commission to return it, Natsha told Ma'an.

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'EU warned PA of negative costs of UN bid'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - October 11, 2012 - 12:00am

The European Union is advising the Palestinian Authority to “be careful” regarding its stated plan to ask the UN for non-member state observer status at its General Assembly, Deputy Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas said Wednesday. Kourkoulas, on a one day trip to Israel where he met his counterpart Danny Ayalon and National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror, told The Jerusalem Post that while there has not been any formal EU discussion on the matter, informal deliberations are ongoing.

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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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Palestinian voters skeptical about value of elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - October 10, 2012 - 12:00am

HEBRON, West Bank — Stumping for votes in the first Palestinian election since 2006, Hebron City Council aspirant Maysoun Qawasmi strides into a plastics factory to promote the West Bank's first all-female political party. The 43-year-old candidate begins wooing executives, listening to workers' concerns and promising reform. She predicts that her list of candidates will shake up the conservative Islamist-leaning city, where women rarely take center stage.

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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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PA: No date set for payment of September salaries
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 9, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority has not set a date for the payment of government employees' September salaries, PA spokeswoman Nour Odeh said Monday. The Ministry of Finance will release a statement when the salaries are available to employees, Odeh told Ma'an. On Wednesday, the PA paid part of employees' August salaries. Their full salaries had been put on hold to pay lower wage earners.

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