RAMALLAH - A new Palestinian daily newspaper in English was launched on Monday with the hope of winning readers in Israel as well as in Palestinian territories.

There are three Palestinian dailies in Arabic.

The Palestine Times is aimed at the generally well-educated minority who speak English in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as well as at Israelis.

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"It will be the first Palestinian newspaper to be sold on Israeli news stands," Othman Haj Mohammed, the paper's editor in chief, told reporters. "We have acquired a licence ... and will begin distribution in Israel at the end of this week."

Mohammed said the paper would have an Israeli correspondent to write about Israeli affairs and an Israeli Arab reporter to cover that community.

Publishers said the Palestine Times would be the first English daily for Palestinians since they gained a measure of self-rule in the 1990s. They said it would be independent of any political faction and funded only through sales and advertising.

Mohammed acknowledged the difficult economic environment. The Palestinian economy is estimated to have shrunk 10 percent since a Hamas-led Islamist government took office in March and came under Western sanctions.

"There is a risk, but it is calculated," said Mohammed. "It's worth giving it a shot from the heart."