Israeli army to acquire long-range rockets ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 15, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, March 14 (Xinhua) -- In the face of growing threats posed by rockets at the disposal of Israel's foes, the Israeli military will acquire rockets of its own, the Yediot Aharonot daily reported Wednesday. Brig.-Gen. David Suissa, the commander of the army's Artillery Corps, is promoting the procurement of precision-strike rockets with ranges of 40 and 150 km, according to the paper's business section. » Read more

Palestinians prepare to lose the solar panels that provide a lifeline ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Phoebe Greenwood - March 14, 2012 - 12:00am Two large solar panels jut out of the barren landscape near Imneizil in the Hebron hills. The hi-tech structures sit incongruously alongside the tents and rough stone buildings of the Palestinian village, but they are fundamental to life here: they provide electricity. Imneizil is not connected to the national electricity grid. Nor are the vast majority of Palestinian communities in Area C, the 62% of the West Bank controlled by Israel. The solar energy has replaced expensive and clunky oil-powered generators. » Read more

'Israeli restrictions deepen PA's fiscal crisis' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - March 15, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority’s fiscal crisis has grown worse due to a decline in donor funds and continued Israeli restrictions, the World Bank warned in a report it published on Thursday. The report was prepared in advance of a meeting in Brussels next Wednesday of a donor forum for the Palestinian Authority known as the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee. “Stabilization of the PA’s fiscal position compels immediate action by the donor community,” said Mariam Sherman, World Bank country director for the West Bank and Gaza. » Read more

World Bank: Economic slowdown in Palestinian Authority endangers state-building efforts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - March 15, 2012 - 12:00am Budgetary problems, a drop in international aid and an economic slowdown in the West Bank are hampering the efforts of the Palestinian Authority to build the institutions of an independent state, according to a new report by the World Bank. According to the bank's data, the gross national product in the West Bank grew at a rate of 5.8 percent during the first three quarters of 2011, compared to a rate a 7.5% during the same period in 2010. The bank predicted a further drop in growth, to 5%, in 2012. According to the data, the economic slowdown in the West Bank began in 2008. » Read more

Study: Israeli 'state land' illegally taken from West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 15, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israel has designated some 900,000 dunams of the occupied West Bank as Israeli state land, using procedures that break local and international laws, an Israeli human rights group said Wednesday. "Large swaths of land have been classified state land and designated for use by settlements, despite the fact that they belong to Palestinian individuals or communities," according to a new report by B'Tselem. The study says Palestinian land "was taken from their lawful owners by legal manipulation and in breach of local law and international law alike." » Read more

Unity deal 'next year' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 15, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Hamas' leadership in the Gaza Strip is unlikely to follow through on its end of the reconciliation deal with Fatah anytime soon, a senior party official said Wednesday. The party's external leadership agreed in Qatar to implement the deal in a joint announcement by politburo chief Khalid Mashaal and Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, disappointing the leadership in Gaza. » Read more

Gaza-Israel clashes: The view from each side ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Rupert Wingfield-Hayes - March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Sitting in the centre of Gaza City this mini-conflict has an almost surreal quality. With the windows open, a distant rumble very like thunder rolled across the city each time an Israeli strike hit home. But down below on the streets the cars kept passing, the shops stayed open, pedestrians kept walking home with their groceries. After years of blockade and repeated rounds of air strikes Gazans appear almost inured to the endless conflict. Further out of the city, closer to the Israeli border, the atmosphere is different. The streets are quieter. » Read more

Israel-Gaza truce mostly observed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - March 13, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA, March 13 (Reuters) - An Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and militant groups in the Gaza Strip was largely observed on Tuesday after four days of violence in which 25 Palestinians were killed and 200 rockets were fired at Israel. The number of Palestinian rocket attacks dropped sharply after the deal took effect overnight, with less than 10 rockets reportedly fired since then. In a further sign of a return to normality, towns and cities in southern Israel announced plans to reopen schools that had been kept shut for the past three days. » Read more

Israeli aircraft hit Gaza in response to rockets ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - March 15, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says its aircraft have struck militant sites in the Gaza Strip in response to continued rocket fire on southern Israel. The two sides agreed earlier this week to halt a four-day flare-up of violence but sporadic rocket fire and retaliatory airstrikes have persisted. Thursday's airstrike came after three rockets were fired at Israel a day earlier. No one was hurt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Iran for the latest violence. » Read more

Airstrikes target Gaza Strip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 15, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Israel launched airstrikes on two sites in the Gaza Strip overnight Wednesday, less than 48 hours after agreeing to an Egypt-brokered truce. Witnesses said that Israeli missiles landed on agricultural land, causing a fire and severe damage. No injuries were reported. In a statement, the Israeli army said its warplanes targeted "a rocket launching site in the northern Gaza Strip and a terror tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip." Earlier, a rocket fired at Beersheva was intercepted by the Iron Dome active missile defense system, the army said. » Read more