PA security forces conduct drill in Jenin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - April 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian security forces on Thursday conducted a series of drills in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, including a special display for school children. The exercises were meant to boost the security forces' image in the eyes of the West Bank's younger population. Additional drills were held in other parts of the West Bank. In Bethlehem, Italian experts supervised over an exercise that simulated the rescuing of people injured in a car accident.

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Hamas: Fatah must apologize to Palestine for failed efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 31, 2010 - 12:00am

Fatah’s call for an escalation of peaceful resistance is an admission of the failure of the government to reach a peace deal for Palestinians, Hamas officials declared on Tuesday following a cabinet meeting in Gaza. Fatah and the Palestinian Authority must now "apologize to the Palestinians for forcing them into a failed process that lasted 20 years," a statement from the Gaza government said, citing the continued occupation of the West Bank, the siege on Gaza, and the unfaltering settlement construction in the West Bank including East Jerusalem.

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Senior Fatah official refuses to appear alone before Israeli court
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 31, 2010 - 12:00am

A senior official from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party on Wednesday refused to stand before an Israeli military court, showing a solidarity sign with a group of detainees who were detained with him and being tried separately. Abbas Zaki, a member of Fatah central committee, was arrested with 11 Palestinians on an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank during a demonstration this week.

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PNA approves 3.9-bln-USD budget for 2010
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) cabinet on Monday approved its budget for 2010, which amounts to 3.9 billion U.S. dollars. The cabinet, which is chaired by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, said in a statement after it held its weekly meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah that around 50 percent of the PNA budget was devoted to the Gaza Strip, ruled since 2007 by the Islamic Hamas movement, President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah party's rival.

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Thousands attend 'Land Day' ceremony
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Sharon Roffe-ofir - March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

Thousands of people arrived in Sakhnin Tuesday to attend a ceremony marking the 34th anniversary of 'Land Day'. Participants waved black flags and Palestinian flags and called, "Barak, Barak, defense minister, how many children have you killed today?" Mosques throughout the northern city called on worshippers to participate in the rally and churches rang bells of mourning for the deaths of six activists who died protesting the confiscation of their lands in 1976.

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Fayyad joins protest to mark Land Day
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 30, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad joined over 200 Israeli, Palestinian and internationals marking Land Day on Tuesday in the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan, in the West Bank governorate of Salfit. The march began at around 10am and lasted until 12:30pm, Israeli peace activist Jonathan Pollack said, beginning near the Ein Entweteg Spring in the village.

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Palestinian security forces walk a careful line
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

As the highest-ranking commander of nearly 8,000 Palestinian security troops, Maj. Gen. Diab Ali is accustomed to being top gun. But the salutes often stop when he leaves the military base and travels through the West Bank. Experience has taught the general to leave his gun behind and trade the uniform for civilian clothes, lest some young Israeli checkpoint guard decide to hold him for questioning or block his way. "It avoids problems," said Ali, commander of the National Security Forces of the Palestinian Authority.

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Palestinians to start using Ramallah highway
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli authorities are preparing to implement a High Court decision allowing Palestinians to use a West Bank highway that had previously been designated for exclusive Israeli use. Israel's military released a statement Thursday evening affirming that Palestinians will be allowed to travel on highway 443, which runs near the villages of Beit Sira, Beit ‘Ur Al-Fauqa, Kharbatha Al-Misbah, and At-Tira. Palestinian cars using the Ramallah-area highway will first undergo inspection at a military checkpoint to be erected near the Ofer detention center, the military statement said.


Palestinians await Israeli nod on W.Bank project
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Mohammed Assadi - (Interview) March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority has asked Israel for jurisdiction over West Bank land in the Jordan Valley for a development project valued at $2.1 billion, the head of Palestine Investment Fund said. The Western-backed Palestinian Authority's plan comprises investment of $1.4 billion in a tourist resort on the Dead Sea shore and further spending of $700 million on a new city near Jericho, Mohammad Mustafa, head of the PIF, told Reuters.

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PA cabinet: No return to violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 23, 2010 - 12:00am

During its weekly cabinet meeting on Monday, the Palestinian government in Ramallah condemned the killing of four Palestinians in Nablus in less than 24 hours by Israel forces. The cabinet also condemned Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip.

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