Gaza, Palestinian Territory (TML) – The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip is warning local politicians, government officials and faction leaders against buying cars imported from Israel for fear they may contain eavesdropping equipment or even remote-activated bombs planted by Israeli security agencies.

Ihab Ghossein, a spokesman for Hamas’ Ministry of Interior, called in a statement for caution when dealing with the cars. But his warnings have fallen on deaf ears, where a four-year-old blockade has deprived Gazans of many consumer goods or put their prices out of range.

“People in Gaza haven’t really responded to this warning,” ‘Ali Abu-Shahla, secretary-general of the Palestinian Businessmen Association in Gaza, told The Media Line. “I fear, though, that if people continue ignoring it, Hamas will resort to banning cars coming in from Israel altogether.”

Israel has been under international pressure to ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip, especially after an attack by its commandos on an aid convoy to Gaza last May that left nine dead. Yet, even as Israel has begun to let cars and other once-prohibited goods into the Mediterranean enclave, Hamas itself hasn’t always welcomed the increased flow of goods.

Private vehicles joined the list of permitted goods last month. Since then, nine shipments have passed through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint, containing 180 new or slightly used cars.

The problem for Hamas is that it doesn’t profit from the official car imports because the taxes on the vehicles are paid to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, Hamas’ rival for control of the Palestinian territories, said Abu-Shahla. The only reason Hamas allows cars in at all, he said, was to ease pent up demand on the street and mounting criticism of the government, he said

Where it can and does collect taxes is on the vehicles and other goods smuggled through tunnels from Egypt, but the price to the consumer for these vehicles is much higher and the supply is limited. During the years that Israel banned car imports, a new, smuggled automobile — brought in disassembled through the narrow tunnels — could cost up to $40,000. The same car brought through Kerem Shalom now costs about $25,000.

“I sold my car when cars were expensive here, and got along with my son’s car,” Abu-Shahla said. “Now I’m planning to buy a new car.”

Sa’id Abu-Khosa, a Gaza car salesman, estimated the sticker price on a new car in Gaza have fallen by 20% since Israel lifted the ban while used car prices have plunged as much as 50%. The pent-up demand for new cars is huge, he told the Palestinian daily Filastin, since their import was banned in Gaza for the past four years.

But Samir Zaqout, a field-work coordinator for Al-Mezan Center for human rights in Gaza, said the falling price of cars had less to do with taxes and costs than with supply and demand.

“Before Israel allowed cars into the Gaza Strip, prices here were exorbitant,” he told The Media Line. “There was so much demand and no supply, which made cars much more expensive than their real price.”

Indeed, Gaza’s economy is rebounding after years of declining output under the pressure of the blockade. While the Gaza economy is smaller than it was a decade ago and unemployment is more than 35%, the International Monetary Fund forecasts Gaza’s gross domestic product will jump this year 16%. While a car is beyond most Gazans’ means, for those who can afford one they have become a more affordable means of recreation.

Hassan Asfour, a former Palestinian minister and aligned with the PA, said the Hamas warning was a cynical business move rather than a genuine security concern.

“What is happening in the Gaza Strip,” he wrote in the Firas Press news site, “has nothing to do with security, but is merely a ploy to control the commercial market and monopolize the buying and selling; which is an obsession for big Hamas merchants, whose influence has become much stronger than that of their political leaders.”

Car salesmen have testified that Hamas’ security apparatus carefully examine all cars entering the Gaza Strip at the border crossing, Asfour wrote, adding that hundreds of cars are sold to security officials and members of the “resistance” in Gaza.

Restricted items include “dual use” materials which could be used for both civilian and military ends. Most of these are building materials such as cement, concrete, steel and gravel.

Four-wheel drive vehicles are also still banned from the Gaza Strip, since they are “liable to be used in terror activities,” according to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 2 percent during the third quarter of 2010, according to the first estimate released Friday by the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

This compared to private sector expectations of 2.1 percent, BEA officials said.

Economic growth so far this year has averaged a moderate 2.8 percent.

“Today’s data show that the economy grew for the fifth consecutive quarter and the recovery continues with strong business investment, U.S. exports and consumer spending,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. “Business spending on equipment and software has grown 17.8 percent over the past year, and foreign demand for U.S. products also remained strong, with U.S. exports increasing 12.2 percent over the past four quarters. Consumer spending is another encouraging sign in today’s data, representing the fifth consecutive increase in consumer spending, which has been accelerating over the past three quarters.

“Initiatives by President Obama and this administration, like the recently passed Small Business Jobs Act, along with improvement in the business investment climate and credit markets, support economic growth likely to continue into the fourth quarter and 2011. Our commitment to strengthening America’s economy is steadfast and our mission will not be complete until more Americans can find jobs that provide them with a sense of security and hope for the future,” Locke added.

Growth in business inventories accounted for about two-thirds of the growth although consumer spending also rose despite continued high unemployment.

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Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (AHN) – Potash Corp. Chief Executive Bill Doyle said Thursday the mining firm is still open to new bids despite plans by Saskatchewan officials to block BHP Billiton’s $40-billion offer.

Doyle said he is open to selling the company, based in Saskatoon, to the Australian mining giant, but he said the terms should be at a fair value.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s opposition to the BHP offer, which is the only one so far, is over foreign control of potash, the bulk of which are in the province.

Wall relied heavily on an independent assessment of the BHP offer. The assessment warned that Saskatchewan is bound to lose billions of dollars in potential revenue if Potash accepted BHP’s offer, particularly with expected high demand from China, India and Brazil for potash in the coming years.

Wall has on his side the premiers of Quebec and Alberta, and opposition parties in Ottawa.

Investment Canada has a Nov. 3 deadline to decide on BHP’s offer.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said any decision made by Investment Canada would be based on long-run interest to the Canadian economy.

Potash reported Thursday a 62 percent hike in profit for the third quarter, but because of the possibility of a failed BHP bid, Potash shares fell on Thursday by more than 3 percent.

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Benton Harbor, MI, United States (AHN) – Whirlpool reported third-quarter profits Wednesday that met analysts’ expectations but declined 9.2 percent. The world’s largest appliance manufacturer lowered its full-year outlook for shipments in North America, citing a challenging economy.

Earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was $79 million, or $1.02 a share, down from $87 million, or $1.15 per share, a year ago. Adjusted for charges under a $93 million agreement with the Canadian and U.S. governments to settle a price-fixing case of a subsidiary, profit was $2.22 per share.

Sales rose 0.5 percent to $4.5 billion, driven by double-digit growth in Asia and Latin America.

Revenues in Asia increased 21 percent to $195 million. Without currency adjustments, sales rose 16 percent. Whirlpool expects its shipments to the region for the full year to jump 8 to 10 percent, instead of 5 to 8 percent as it had previously forecast.

In Latin America, sales rose 13 percent, or 9 percent excluding currency shifts, to $1.1 billion. Full-year outlook for shipments in the region remains at 10 percent.

Sales in Europe fell 8 percent to $827 million but the Michigan-based company says it expects shipments to increase 1 to 3 percent.

North American sales dropped 3 percent to $2.4 billion. Whirlpool lowered its full-year forecast of 5 percent growth in shipments to 3 percent.

The company projected full-year earnings per share of between $7.80 and $8.30 after charges under the anti-trust plea agreement. Before charges, earnings are expected to be $9.56 to 10.06 per share.

“As expected, we faced a challenging environment during the quarter which resulted in a significant slowing in sales growth compared to the first half of the year,” chairman and chief executive Jeff Fettig said in a statement. “Our ongoing focus on cost reductions, productivity and innovative new product launches continues to enable us to adapt to changes.”

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Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (AHN) – British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell announced Monday a reshuffle in his cabinet to focus on the province’s main aims of supporting families, education and the economy.

Cabinet members who were moved include George Abbott, who was given the education portfolio; Margaret MacDiarmid, who got tourism; Barry Penner, who was picked to head Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation; and Murray Coell, who got the environment portfolio.

Among those whom Campbell retained in their posts are Finance Minister Colin Hansen, Health Minister Kevin Falcon, Attorney General Mike de Jong and Minister of Public Safety Rich Coleman.

New appointees are Stephanie Cadieux as minister of community, sport and cultural development, and Paul Taylor as chief of staff. Taylor, the former chief executive officer of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, will replace Martyn Brown, who testified in the Basi-Virk corruption trial.

Campbell, who is suffering from a 9 percent voter support in polls, said in a statement, “This new structure will streamline government processes for critical natural resource industries to ensure we can better attract global investment and turn proposed projects and investments into actual work sites and jobs. It enables us to move forward with our federal partners towards establishing a ‘one project, one process’ model.”

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West Bank, Palestinian Territory David E. Miller – Gazans living in the West Bank live in perpetual fear of being arrested and deported back to the isolated, Hamas-ruled enclave. Now, a new ruling by the Palestinian Supreme Court may change all that.

The court instructed the Palestinian Authority to accept applications from any of the estimated 35,000 Palestinian Gazans now residing in the West Bank who file for a change of residence. Many have been living in the West Bank for years, but neither the PA nor Israel has allowed them to establish local residency, leaving them vulnerable to deportation.

“The (PA’s) Civil Affairs administration must accept applications and take all procedures under its jurisdiction according to the transfer of authorities agreement signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel,” the decision read.

With hundreds of Israeli checkpoints across the West Bank, even the shortest journey from home is fraught with risk for Gazans living in the West Bank. While the West Bank’s economy has been thriving, Gaza is cut off from the rest of the world by an Israeli blockade and high unemployment.

The court decision was delivered following a petition by Palestinian businessman Eehab Al-Ashqar after the PA’s Civil Affairs department denied his request to change his registered address from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank.

Even under the latest ruling, Gazans in the West Bank remain in a legal limbo. The PA has until now resisted changing residency papers for Gaza West Bankers and Israel has refused to acknowledge changes of residency.

Israeli government officials claim that fewer than 100 Palestinians have been deported from the West Bank to Gaza during 2008 and 2009, but human rights organizations say the figure is much higher.

Sari Bashi, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli NGO specializing in Palestinians’ freedom of movement, said that the new court decision would have little impact on the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank.

“The Palestinian Authority can decide to print any document it wants,” she told The Media Line. “But the question of whether a person will be allowed to travel and avoid removal is solely in the hands of the Israelis. A document is just a piece of paper. What is real are military jeeps.”

Since 2000, Israel has refused to record address changes from Gaza to the West Bank submitted by the PA, Bashi said.

She added that the PA has refrained from printing IDs that would conflict with Israeli records, due to the risk of arrest facing Palestinians who present such an ID to Israeli soldiers at checkpoints.

“We had a client who arrived at an Israeli checkpoint with a newly printed ID, and was told by the soldier that her document was false and she had no right to be there,” Bashi said.

Attorney Ido Blum of the Israeli NGO Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual, said that last May his organization petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice along with 15 other Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations, demanding that Israel update its Palestinian population registry in accordance with the Palestinian one.

Blum said that the Israeli High Court is set to discuss the matter next April.

“The Israeli practice is utterly illegal,” he told The Media Line. “According to the Oslo accords, Israel has no authority with regards to registration of Palestinian addresses. The only obligation it has is to update its copy of the Palestinian registry after being notified by the Palestinians.”

“Population registries are supposed to reflect the reality,” Blum said. “Here, the reverse has happened: rather than reflecting the person’s address, the Israeli registry is determining it.”

“It is of course important that the Palestinian population registry reflect reality, but the core issue is the Israeli policy,” Blum added.

However, some Palestinian human rights advocates were more optimistic about the new Palestinian court decision. Khalil Abu-Shammala, director of the Gaza-based A-Dameer Association for Human Rights, said it was meaningful both on the symbolic and on the practical level.

“The decision is a victory for the Palestinian citizen and for their rights under Palestinian and international law,” he told The Media Line. “The Palestinian side should not support the occupation, which has imposed house arrest on Palestinian civilians.”

“According to the Oslo Accords, Gaza and the West Bank are considered one territorial unit, and Israel has no right to determine a person’s address,” he said.

“This decision will certainly give Palestinians power to oppose Israel,” he added.

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