PNA criticizes Israel for limited release of tax revenues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 30, 2013 - 1:00am


The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Wednesday criticized Israel's decision to release only parts of withheld Palestinian tax revenues. "The decision is incomplete because it only transfers the funds of one month out of four," said an official from Palestinian Ministry of Finance, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official added that the released amount, estimated around 100 million U.S. dollars, would help ease the PNA's financial crisis, which deepened in the past two years due to a drop in international aid.


Palestinians face growing food crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 30, 2013 - 1:00am


Fluctuating prices, poverty and border restrictions mean growing numbers of Palestinians are facing food insecurity this year -- one of the key priorities in the humanitarian community’s annual appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory. This year’s Consolidated Appeal Process is for $401.6 million, a slight decrease on last year’s $416.7 million, only 68 percent of which was financed. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which helped coordinate the CAP, estimates that 1.3 million Palestinians do not have enough food.


The Palestinian Implosion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Ghaith Al-Omari, Ziad Asali - (Opinion) January 4, 2013 - 1:00am


  Three years ago, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad launched an ambitious plan to build effective, responsive, and clean government institutions. The results were impressive, and Fayyad was hailed as a figure who was making true progress toward a two-state solution even as formal negotiations faltered.


Hamas is failing its responsibility to Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) December 9, 2012 - 1:00am


By the time Khaled Meshaal dropped to his knees and kissed the ground in Gaza on Friday morning, the damage had already been done. Declaring himself a martyr-in-waiting, Mr Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, confirmed what many already knew: violence is the group's only vision for the future.


Israel takes a harder line
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times
(Editorial) December 4, 2012 - 1:00am


When Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced that he would seek recognition from the United Nations for a Palestinian state, Israel complained that Abbas should have pursued that objective in face-to-face peace negotiations and warned of grave consequences, threatening to expand


Throwing Gaza's fishermen a lifeline
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Abeer Ayyoub - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am


Sardines, shrimps, guitarfish and crabs were on display throughout the crowded fish market overlooking the Gaza seaport. "Local and fresh," a man hollered, before being interrupted by a customer asking about shrimp.


ATFP Asks US to Ensure No Israeli Building in E1
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am

 


Amid Euphoria Over U.N. Vote, Palestinians Still Face Familiar Challenges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am


RAMALLAH, West Bank — “Now we have become a state!” Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, announced Sunday to a crowd of thousands in the courtyard of his headquarters in this Palestinian city.


Tunnels between Gaza and Egypt are back in business since cease-fire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Scott Wilson - December 1, 2012 - 1:00am


RAFAH, Gaza Strip — For eight days, the sounds of illegal commerce here at the ragged southern edge of the Gaza Strip were silenced by the pounding thrum of battle.


World Bank to Spend $6.4 Million in Bid To Save Gaza's Water System
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Tamar Dressler - November 29, 2012 - 1:00am


The World Bank is trying to help repair Gaza’s precarious water and sewage systems. Polluted water in Gaza has had an adverse effect on the health of local residents, and the situation is only getting worse. A UN report from last August maintains that the population in Gaza, which currently totals 1.64 million and is expected to increase by half a million by 2020, might lose its main water resource — the subterranean coastal aquifer.



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