Israeli, Palestinian ministers meet for first time in half a year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am

Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom met with Palestinian Economic Minister Bassem Khoury in Jerusalem on Wednesday for the highest level talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials in half a year. The meeting was the first between an Israeli and Palestinian Authority minister since Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu's government took office in March. Until Wednesday, the Palestinian ministers had boycotted their Israeli counterparts. During the talks, which were held at the King David Hotel, the ministers discussed economic proposals to improve life for the Palestinians.

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Israeli, Palestinian mayors pitch rare joint industrial project
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Gil Shefler - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am

Even as Israeli and Palestinian leaders argue about the conditions that must be in place for a return to the negotiating table, they are striking similar tones on the need for economic development. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad unveiled an economic plan last week intended to bring about a stable, independent Palestinian state within two years, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been talking for months about the need for an "economic peace."

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Israel rekindles its African ties
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Will Ross - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am

Avigdor Liberman begins his trip in Ethiopia, where he will be accompanied by 20 business people. Officials say the trip is about building business links with Africa and also countering the influence of Iran on the continent. Israel hopes closer ties with Africa will help at the UN where African countries often vote in blocks. Ethiopia has strong links with Israel. During the 1980s and 90s tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel to resettle in what they considered to be their homeland.

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East Jerusalem Arabs feel squeeze as Jews push into communities
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Star
by Matthew Kalman - August 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Ahmed Abedat was wondering this week how much longer he will be able to enjoy the spectacular view from his grocery shop in Ras Al-Amud – from the ancient Mount of Olives cemetery across the valley to the majestic golden Dome of the Rock soaring above the walls of Jerusalem's Old City.

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'Economic peace no replacement for a political solution'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ron Friedman - August 5, 2009 - 12:00am

A new study published by the Peres Center for Peace argues that economic peace, though a helpful tool, cannot replace a political solution with the Palestinians. The study was released last week at a special conference on the topic at Tel Aviv University, following a meeting between Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom and Palestinian National Economy Minister Bassim Khoury.

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Palestinian economy isn't recovering thanks to Israel, but in spite of it
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - August 4, 2009 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu misses no opportunity to flaunt the flourishing of the Palestinian economy - in the West Bank, of course; not in Gaza. During a sweaty and well-publicized visit he held last weekend at the Allenby Bridge crossing, Netanyahu boasted of the fact that economic growth in the West Bank had reached 7 percent. At the cabinet meeting on Sunday the growth rate grew to double digits: 10 percent. Thus will be done to good Arabs who maintain Israel's security and don't launch Qassam rockets at the country.

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Palestinians seek end to trade dependence on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Erika Soloman - August 3, 2009 - 12:00am

At Garden's grocery store in Ramallah, Dalia al-Khatib hands out fliers and showcases Palestinian goods for Intajuna ("Our Products"), one of many campaigns asking Palestinians to avoid Israeli products. But across town, an all-Palestinian crew of labourers heads home after a day of work on the nearby Jewish settlement of Adam, like some 30,000 other Palestinians who help build settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

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Palestinian finance minister: Economic peace failed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Tani Goldstein - July 30, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian Minister for National Economy Bassem Khoury, speaking Wednesday at a conference at the Peres Center for Peace in Tel Aviv on economic peace, a concept being promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, explained why the Palestinians are not jumping at the opportunity of economic peace.

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US transfers $200 million in aid to Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Karin Laub - July 24, 2009 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The United States has transferred $200 million to the Palestinian government to help ease a growing budget deficit, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has been struggling in recent months to keep his government afloat, borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars from commercial banks just to cover the public payroll.

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Israel's other Israel: the Tel Aviv 'bubble'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - July 19, 2009 - 12:00am

The Israeli relationship with this city is captured in a hit song about a 20-something who moves here from Jerusalem: "I mix in with the scene. Everything is fresh, and that's good," goes the hip-hop verse by Dag HaNahash. "After two years of Sodom and Gomorrah, I don't recognize myself in the mirror." Welcome to The Bubble, as Israelis call it. Here, residents forgo news about Hamas rocket fire for an espresso, then mosey down to the beach. While Jewish settlers spar with Palestinians in the West Bank, "Tel Avivis" make merry at disco clubs.

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