'We want the PA to have stability and prosperity, even if we have to fund it'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times of Israel
by Raphael Ahren - (Interview) September 23, 2012 - 12:00am

s the director-general of Strategic Affairs Ministry, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser has spent a lot of time researching Palestinian incitement against Israel and Jews. Under his tutelage, the ministry earlier this year published an Incitement Index, which listed numerous examples of statements made by senior Palestinian Authority officials who ostensibly demonized Israel, insulted Jews, marginalized the Holocaust and radiated a general unwillingness for peace and reconciliation.

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News analysis: Abbas' retirement threats an attention-getting bluff
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - September 21, 2012 - 12:00am

  JERUSALEM, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas has told his staff to start looking for someone to replace him, according to a recent report by Saudi Arabia's Al-Watan newspaper. "You have 10 days until I return from the United States," Abbas reportedly told members of his Fatah party, "You should seek a new president."

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Fatah leader: Abbas won't quit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 20, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Mahmoud Abbas has no intention to resign and will remain president until the next elections, senior Fatah official Jamal Muhassen said Thursday.

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Jailed Palestinian activist ends hunger strike, amid signs of possible release
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - September 20, 2012 - 12:00am

The campaign being waged by international pro-Palestinian activists against the incarceration of Zakarya Zubeidi is beginning to show signs of success, friends of the Jenin Freedom Theater co-founder said Thursday. Zubeidi, a resident of the Jenin refugee camp and a former leading militant turned cultural activist, has been under Palestinian Authority custody since May and went on hunger strike September 9.

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Are W. Bank riots the start of ‘Palestinian Spring’?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ilene Prusher - September 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Thousands of young Palestinians out on the streets – chanting slogans, throwing rocks, burning tires. Working class drivers striking to protest against the price of gas, middle- class merchants shuttering their shops to avoid damages and the moneyed classes chattering nervously about whether this is really as momentous as it looks.

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PA asks economic committee to study price crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday said it asked a special economic committee to study a government memo about the rising cost of living in the occupied territories. The committee will respond to the memo, prepared by the ministry of national economy, within two days. The report focuses on possible ways to cope with the situation amid growing protests. The assignment was made during the PA cabinet’s weekly meeting in Ramallah where prime minister Salam Fayyad and his ministers discussed the financial situation as they prepared a budget for 2013.

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Sources: PA Attorney General resigns
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority Attorney-General Ahmad al-Mughni resigned his position on Saturday morning, informed sources told Ma'an. The sources said al-Mughni handed in his notice after meeting with a former US State Attorney in Ramallah, without elaborating on the content of the meeting. Al-Mughni could not be reached for confirmation. Earlier this year, Ma'an revealed the attorney-general was forcing private Internet companies to block access to websites loyal to ousted Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan.

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Report: Fayyad seeks advice from Bank of Israel governor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad met with the Governor of the Bank of Israel Stanley Fischer last Friday in Jerusalem, Israeli media reported on Monday. Hebrew-language news site Maariv said that the meeting came at Fayyad’s request, and he was seeking advice on future economic steps. The officials, who worked together at the International Monetary Fund in the 1990s, met at the American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem, the report said. Fischer’s office confirmed that he met with Fayyad, but they gave no further details.

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PA 'stops recruitment, promotions' due to financial crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 26, 2012 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority issued a decision on Friday to stop all new recruitment and promotions in government institutions until further notice as a result of the financial crisis it is currently experiencing, a statement from President Abbas' office said. Palestinian economist Nasser Abed al-Kareem told Ma'an that the PA was forced to make the decision as a result of the current financial crisis, adding that the move will add around $30 million annually to the PA's budget.

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Israeli minister wants Palestinian leader's ouster
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
August 22, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel's foreign minister is urging the international community to help replace Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Avigdor Lieberman sent a letter to international Mideast peace mediators calling Abbas an "obstacle to peace." He wants them to push for Palestinian elections to choose a new leader. Lieberman heads a hard-line party and is known for heated rhetoric that sometimes embarrasses the government.

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