IDF Removes Key West Bank Roadblocks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - May 4, 2012 - 12:00am

  In an effort to improve Palestinian quality of life, the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria removed a number of roadblocks on key roads throughout the West Bank in recent weeks.

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The Visionary
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The New Republic - May 4, 2012 - 12:00am

If you were to pinpoint one moment when it looked as if things just might work out for Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, it would probably be February 2, 2010. That day, Fayyad addressed the annual Herzliya Conference, a sort of Israeli version of Davos featuring high-powered policymakers and intellectuals. It is not a typical speaking venue for Palestinians; yet Fayyad was warmly received.

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Israeli settlement hotel plans 'threaten West Bank tourism'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 2, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli plans to build nine hotels in a settlement neighborhood in East Jerusalem aim to undermine tourism in Bethlehem, a Palestinian researcher warned Tuesday. Israel on Tuesday pushed forward with plans to build 1,100 hotel rooms in Givat Hamatos, a neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem close to Israel's checkpoint to Bethlehem. Khalil Tufakji, a Palestinian expert in settlement affairs, told Ma'an that an Israeli committee had approved the plan, which includes nine hotels.

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Ramallah is booming, but residents wait for the bubble to burst
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - April 25, 2012 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority's capital on the West Bank has had a persuasive veneer of prosperity for the past five years, but there are fears that the economic boom may soon turn to a very painful bust. Hugh Naylor, Foreign Correspondent, reports RAMALLAH // Sari Sakakini is under no illusions. He admits his restaurant sits on over-priced land, serving gourmet food to heavily indebted customers in a place still reeling under the harsh reality of Israel's occupation.

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Clampdown on Palestinian media spreads to the Web
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by George Hale - April 24, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority has quietly instructed Internet providers to block access to news websites whose reporting is critical of President Mahmoud Abbas, according to senior government officials and data analyzed by network security experts.

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This Israel Independence Day, I’m buying Palestinian
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) April 24, 2012 - 12:00am

On this anniversary of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, you’re likely to encounter no end of negativity - grousing from the boiling blood extremists, grumbling from heartbroken moderates, resignation from those whose dreams have been dashed and trashed and ground into sand, year after soul-crushing year. Not a small group. A group which often includes me. But not this year. Not me. This year, for Israel Independence Day, I’m buying Palestinian.

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The economics of Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) April 9, 2012 - 12:00am

Over the past couple of weeks I have been spending a considerable amount of time in Ramallah, assisting in the development of a project on trade facilitation which will be funded by the US government to help the Palestinian private sector to build the economy and ensure continued stability.

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Arab nations 'to pay PA if Israel freezes tax revenues'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 2, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Arab nations meeting at a Baghdad summit last week pledged to compensate the Palestinian Authority if Israel freezes delivery of tax revenues, a senior official told government media. Fatah official Muhammad Shtayyeh told Voice of Palestine radio on Sunday that nations agreed at the Arab League summit pay the PA $100 million per month, roughly the sum of customs taxes collected by Israel on the PA's behalf under international agreements.

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West Bank's economy at crossroads
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
by Charlotte Silver - (Analysis) March 26, 2012 - 12:00am

Ramallah, West Bank - The economy of the West Bank has reached a crossroads, and with it so has the Palestinian Authority (PA). As Palestinian lending banks close their doors, development contracts are shelved and everyday spending slows to a trickle, the PA and international institutions speak of an economic crisis in the West Bank. Conventional analysis blames the failure of donors to fulfill promised pledges for the paralysing PA budget deficit that has reached $.5bn. Meanwhile, Israel blames financial mismanagement by the PA.

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PA 'spent $7 billion' in Gaza since split
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority has spent over $7 billion in Gaza since 2007, Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf said Wednesday. The Fatah-led government in Ramallah has continued to meet its obligations in Gaza even though Fatah was ousted from the coastal enclave by Hamas in 2007, Assaf said in a statement. The PA spends around $120 million each month on the Gaza Strip, paying the salaries of around 80,000 civil servants, the Fatah official said.

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