It's grim in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Anne Penketh - (Blog) December 3, 2008 - 1:00am I met Karen AbuZayd, the head of UNRWA, when she was sitting in the basement dining room of a trendy London hotel beside a mirror on which an artist has written in gold letters: "this is shit."It is understandable that Mrs AbuZayd, whose UN agency looks after the welfare of Palestinian refugees, did not wish to be photographed in front of the art work. But the message on the mirror aptly sums up the dramatic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, as she was the first to point out. » Read more

Israel convicts top Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News December 3, 2008 - 1:00am An Israeli military court has convicted the Speaker of the Palestinian parliament of being a member and officer of an illegal organisation. Abdel Aziz Dweik belongs to the Hamas movement, which controls Gaza. He has been in prison since his arrest by Israeli forces in 2006 and will be sentenced at a later date. Dozens of Palestinian legislators were arrested by the Israeli army in 2006. Thirty lawmakers remain in Israeli custody. They were detained following the capture by Hamas-allied militants of an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. » Read more

Israel: Airstrike Kills 2 in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - December 3, 2008 - 1:00am An Israeli airstrike aimed at a militant squad in southern Gaza killed two Palestinian youths on Tuesday, and a militant was shot and killed in the West Bank when he tried to elude arrest. Palestinian medical officials said the two killed in Gaza were brothers, ages 15 and 17. An Israeli military spokesman said the target was a squad that had fired a mortar shell 20 minutes earlier. The armed wing of Hamas said it fired eight mortar shells at Israeli forces on Tuesday. » Read more

US-Palestinian Partnership Visits West Bank to Support Education and Economic Initiatives Press Release - Contact Information: Omar Tuffaha - December 3, 2008 - 1:00am In mid-November, U.S.-Palestinian Partnership co-chairs, Ziad Asali and Jean Case, and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs James Glassman led a delegation to the West Bank and Israel to announce the Partnership's accomplishments to date and explore future opportunities. The delegation participated in the opening of a Youth Development and Resource Center (YDRC) in the village of Beita. Read more