Report: Ashton tells Abbas no cut in EU aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 3, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told President Mahmoud Abbas that the EU would not cut aid to the Palestinian Authority after Palestine's bid for UN membership, media reports said on Monday. The Ramallah-based government is facing a financial shortfall after the US Congress declined to transfer $200 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority. The EU will not block aid payments, Ramallah-based daily al-Quds reported, quoting European sources.

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Palestinian Authority risks funding squeeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - October 2, 2011 - 12:00am

TEL AVIV // The Palestinian Authority faces possible financial ruin for defying Israeli and American opposition to its quest to seek statehood recognition from the United Nations. Israel's finance minister, Yuval Steinitz, has repeatedly threatened in recent weeks that Israel would stop transferring the customs and tax revenue that it collects on the Palestinian Authority's behalf. That US$1.3 billion (Dh4.8bn) in annual fees is critical to the Palestinian Authority, accounting for about two thirds of its revenue.

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Israeli occupation hitting Palestinian economy, claims report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - (Analysis) September 29, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza deprives the Palestinian economy of almost £4.4bn a year, equivalent to about 85% of the nominal gross domestic product of Palestine, according to a report published in Ramallah . As well as its detrimental effect on the Palestinian economy, the "occupation enterprise" allows the state of Israel and commercial firms to profit from Palestinian natural resources and tourist potential, the report said.

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Palestinians look for modifying Paris agreement signed with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Drimly, Osama Radi - (Analysis) September 28, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian officials and analysts said Tuesday that substantial modifications of Paris agreement, signed in 1994 and aimed at coordinating the economical ties with Israel, would be essential to strengthen the characteristics of the Palestinian state. Mohamed Ishteya, director general of the Palestinian Economical Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDR), said the Paris agreement depended on the basis of free movement of trade, workers and goods in both directions.

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Abbas rejects US corruption allegations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Ali El-saleh - September 20, 2011 - 12:00am

New York, Asharq Al-Awsat – Asharq Al-Awsat spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as he prepares for the most important battle of his life, namely the battle to convince the UN to recognize the Palestinian State.

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Reports See Fiscal Woes Undermining Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - September 11, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — With the Palestinian Authority seeking United Nations membership and statehood recognition this month, two new reports say Palestinian public institutions are gaining traction, but there is trouble on the economic front — growth has slowed amid a fiscal crisis. In a report to be delivered next week, the World Bank says that while Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has made substantial progress in building strong state institutions, “the onset of an acute fiscal crisis, accompanied by declining economic growth,” may undermine those achievements.

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Cash crisis risks Palestinian state building-W.Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Tom Perry - September 11, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Progress made by the Palestinians in building institutions for statehood could be undermined by a fiscal crisis caused by a shortfall in foreign aid, the World Bank said on Monday. In a report released just a week before the Palestinian leadership goes to the United Nations to press its claim for statehood, the World Bank said Israeli restrictions on the Palestinian economy must be lifted to allow sustained reform.

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ACP delivers $50,000 to Promote Youth Program in Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from American Charities for Palestine
September 8, 2011 - 12:00am

ACP is pleased to announce its new partnership with a local organization in the West Bank, Palestine Vision, through which ACP facilitated American donations to a program called the Mediterranean Youth Technology Club (MYTecC). Project funders include Cisco and USAID. ACP coordinated with Craig Newmark, of Craigslist and CraigConnect, as well as the Aspen Institute, by providing a vetted and accountable mechanism through which Mr. Newmark could make a $ 50,000 private donation to the MYTecC project, and its implementer Palestine Vision.

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Cash-strapped Palestinians cut pay in half for September
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Tom Perry - September 6, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority will pay only half wages this month, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Tuesday, the second time in three months it has taken such a step because of a financial crisis it blames on donors failing to provide promised funds. Fayyad announced the half pay measure at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The Palestinian Authority took the same measure in July. Last month it paid full salaries but said its funding crisis had not been solved.

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BDS: The sky is not falling
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Jon Haber - (Opinion) September 1, 2011 - 12:00am

No doubt the author of the August 31 piece “Is BDS campaign working” meant well in terms of alerting readers to the threat of not just BDS but the whole effort to de-legitimize the Jewish state. That said, accurate information is always required when analyzing a threat and, unfortunately, the writer chose to take BDS claims of success at face value, rather than digging beneath the surface for more accurate information.

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