June 1st

Fayyad says PNA's deficit nearly 1 bln USD
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 31, 2011 - 12:00am


The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) needs nearly one billion U.S. dollars to cover shortage in its budget, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Tuesday. His remarks came as Germany pledged to pay 42 million euros (60 million dollars) in support of the PNA over the next year. Also on Tuesday, the PNA and the European Union (EU) signed an agreement to support educational, health and development projects in East Jerusalem. According to the agreement, the EU will pay six million euros (8.6 million dollars) to implement these programs.


Hamas opens memorial to dead flotilla activists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
May 31, 2011 - 12:00am


The Islamic militant group Hamas has unveiled a memorial for nine activists killed last year in an Israeli raid on an international flotilla seeking to break a blockade of the Gaza Strip. The memorial at Gaza's harbor includes nine 12-yard-(meter)-high metal statues shaped as sails, and a new public park. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday the memorial commemorates "the heroes who drew the world's attention to the siege of Gaza."


East Jerusalem residents face police violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am


An Israeli rights group on Tuesday called on Jerusalem's new police chief to "fundamentally change" what it said was his officers' violent treatment towards the city's Palestinian residents. In a report timed to coincide with the anniversary of Israel's 1967 occupation of east Jerusalem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said that over the past two years it had received a rising number of complaints and mounting evidence of abuses suffered by Palestinian residents. "Residents do not view the Jerusalem District Police as a body meant to serve and protect them," the report says.


Peace process and Arab Spring
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Christopher Hill - (Opinion) June 1, 2011 - 12:00am


President Barack Obama’s speech on the ongoing popular uprisings in the Middle East, followed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent visit to Washington, was intended to kick off a renewed effort to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Things are not turning out as planned.


Fayyad: Promised donor aid not arriving
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am


The Palestinian Authority is facing a financial crisis because funds pledged by donor nations are not arriving on time, Prime Minister of the West Bank government Salam Fayyad said Tuesday. Speaking at a press conference with Japan's representative to the Palestinian Authority, Fayyad said the slow delivery of promised aid was putting pressure on the government. "The financial crisis continues until now, to varying degrees, and has continued alongside the work of the Palestinian Authority since mid-2010," Fayyad warned, saying the government was facing a serious shortfall.


Scores at Rafah spark tension with Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am


An escalated crisis between Egypt and the Hamas government of the Gaza Strip was dampened Tuesday night, as officials met over ways to handle the flood of Palestinians seeking to cross the Rafah border terminal. Following the May 28 opening of the Gaza-Egypt border, for almost unfettered access to Palestinians except men between 18-40, floods of would-be travelers arrived prepared to cross, overwhelming the terminal.



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