Palestinian farmers wither in tough climate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jihan Abdalla - September 12, 2012 - 12:00am

BEIT UMMAR, West Bank, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Once a mainstay of the local economy, Palestinian agriculture in the rocky West Bank is in decline as farmers struggle to protect their livelihoods and their lands. Deprived of water and cut off from key markets, farmers across the occupied territory can only look on with a mix of anger and envy as Israeli settlers copiously irrigate their own plantations and export at will.

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Are W. Bank riots the start of ‘Palestinian Spring’?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ilene Prusher - September 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Thousands of young Palestinians out on the streets – chanting slogans, throwing rocks, burning tires. Working class drivers striking to protest against the price of gas, middle- class merchants shuttering their shops to avoid damages and the moneyed classes chattering nervously about whether this is really as momentous as it looks.

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Study: Violence Begets Violence Among Palestinian, Israeli Youth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Mairav Zonszein - (Analysis) September 11, 2012 - 12:00am

Early on the morning of Aug. 17, a Palestinian youth was beaten unconscious by a mob of Israeli teenagers in West Jerusalem’s Zion Square. The assailants were teenagers, some as young as 13, and many more youths allegedly stood around and watched. One perpetrator told the press that as far as he is concerned, the victim should die because “he is an Arab." 

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Crafting Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Linda Gradstein - September 11, 2012 - 12:00am

As the sun set over Jerusalem, about one hundred women milled around tables covered with hand-made crafts. There were delicate earrings, hand-embroidered shawls, olive wood jewelry boxes and brightly colored ceramic bowls. There was chatter in Hebrew and Arabic and a lot of laughter.  

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Palestinians languish in long wait for critical medical care
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Alex Taylor - September 10, 2012 - 12:00am

BEIRUT: Mohammad Twieh, an 18-year-old resident of Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, was told as a child he would not survive to adulthood without a liver transplant by 2007.

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Protesting Palestinian truck drivers block streets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
September 9, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK — Dozens of Palestinian truck drivers have blocked the main streets of the West Bank city of Ramallah to protest rising prices.

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For Palestinian Kids in Hebron, Little Joy on Back-to-School Day
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Lena Odgaard - September 9, 2012 - 12:00am

HEBRON — Catching up with friends, showing off new clothes and getting new books — for most kids, the first day of school is exciting. But for Palestinian children who live in or go to school in the Old City of Hebron, the day is nothing to look forward to. Here, crossing checkpoints manned by heavily armed Israeli soldiers and dodging barbs and attacks from Israeli settlers are unfortunate parts of an ordinary school day.

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Protests shake West Bank as Palestinians hit by rising prices
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - September 7, 2012 - 12:00am

In a backlash against lighter wallets and rising prices in the West Bank, Palestinians burnt effigies of their prime minister and striking taxi drivers blocked traffic. As the unrest shook the West Bank, President Mahmoud Abbas promised to revive the Palestinian bid for recognition at the United Nations. For Palestinians who are struggling to survive, the increasingly dire economic situation and the Palestinian Authority's (PA) financial crisis is a more pressing concern than Mr Abbas's move.

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Palestinians slipping deeper into poverty -UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Robert Evans - September 6, 2012 - 12:00am

GENEVA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The United Nations UNCTAD agency issued a gloomy outlook for the Palestinian economy on Wednesday, arguing that tougher Israeli policies and settlement expansion were pushing the occupied territories and Gaza deeper into poverty. The situation had been aggravated in 2011 by a sharp drop in foreign aid, which for years provided a vital support, dimming any hope for an upswing even in the longer term, a report from the trade and development body said.

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President says Palestinian Spring has begun
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 6, 2012 - 12:00am

CAIRO (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that the "Palestinian Spring" had begun, as Palestinians took to the streets across the West Bank in protest over rising prices. "The Palestinian spring has begun, and we are in line with what the people say and what they want," Abbas said, addressing a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo. The president said the protesters' demands to reduce costs of basic goods and for regular payment of salaries were "right and fair."

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