January 24th

Breach In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) January 24, 2008 - 5:57pm

THE HAMAS movement provided a dramatic illustration yesterday of its ability to disrupt any movement toward peace between Israelis and Palestinians. As tens of thousands of residents of the Gaza Strip surged across the border into Egypt, Hamas security forces directed traffic; earlier, they stood by as organized groups of militants blew up the fence along the previously sealed border.

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Trapped In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) January 24, 2008 - 5:56pm

The neglect and mistreatment of the 1.5 million Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip is a disgrace, and a very dangerous one. They are pawns in the struggle among Hamas, which controls Gaza and uses the territory to bombard Israel daily; its rivals in the Fatah movement that run the Palestinian Authority and the West Bank; and Israel. If something isn’t done quickly to address the Gazans’ plight, President Bush’s Annapolis peace process could implode.

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As Gazans Pour Across, A Region Alters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Rushdi Abu Alouf, Richard Bourdreaux - January 24, 2008 - 5:55pm

The collapse of Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday altered the region's political and security landscape as suddenly as it changed the fortunes of Palestinians who poured out of the enclave to stock up on goods made scarce by an Israeli blockade. After masked gunmen used land mines to blast through a 7-mile-long border wall, tens of thousands of jubilant Gazans went on an Egyptian spree, buying gasoline, heating oil, rice, sugar, milk, cheese, cigarettes, tires, cement, television sets and cellphones.

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Gaza Busts Out Of Its Blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Dan Murphy, Ilene Prusher - January 24, 2008 - 5:54pm

In a coordinated effort using explosives and bulldozers, militants in the Gaza Strip pulled down much of a seven-mile border fence with Egypt Wednesday, allowing tens of thousands of Gazans to cross into Egypt to buy everything from fuel to baby formula.

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January 23rd

The Los Angeles Times examines how the opening of the Gaza-Egypt border has altered the political and security landscape (2.) A New York Times editorial is critical of all parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for using the civilian population of Gaza as pawns in their political struggle (3.) Reuters looks at how Israel is considering responding to the Gaza border breach (5.) A Baltimore Sun opinion by former Fatah militant and co-founder of Combatants for Peace Bassam Aramin urges an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories if peace based on justice is to be established (6.) The Times (UK) looks at how Hamas planned its breach of the Gaza border wall for months leading up to the action (11.) A Daily Star (Lebanon) editorial cautions of the detrimental effect of the Gaza situation on any prospects for peace and U.S. credibility in the Middle East (12.) A Haaretz (Israel) editorial urges using the Gaza border issue as an opportunity to turn over border crossings to the Palestinian government and international organizations (15.)

A Thundering Silence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) January 23, 2008 - 8:48pm

The 14-year-old girls who spent three weeks in jail because they refused to identify themselves after being arrested at an illegal outpost are just one example of what is happening in the religious Zionist camp. It is easy to feel sympathy for minors whom the legal system arrested as a form of punishment, since arrest is not supposed to serve this purpose. In that sense, the court that released them was right to do so.

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They Neither See Nor Remember
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - January 23, 2008 - 8:47pm

The security establishment was quick on Monday to boast of the success of its tactic of escalation against Gaza: Look, the number of Qassams declined. By the time these lines are published, the security establishment may spin another logical axiom: Since we renewed the supply of diesel fuel on a one-time basis, the Palestinians have gone back to firing Qassams. The conclusion: Continue the escalation. The logic of escalation is the middle name of the current defense minister, Ehud Barak, and many Israelis are adopting it.

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Evangelicals Key In South Carolina
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al Jazeera English
January 23, 2008 - 8:46pm

Evangelical Christians are an important voting bloc in US politics - their strong support was crucial to George Bush's narrow victories in 2000 and 2004. And this year, South Carolina, a state with a strong Evangelical community, will be a crucial test, especially for the Republican candidates. One of them must inspire the Evangelical vote to have any hope of becoming president in November.

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From Birmingham To Gaza, A Same Struggle
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - January 23, 2008 - 8:45pm

I have two texts that I pull off my bookshelf every now and then for renewed stimulation and hope in times of conflict and pessimism. One is the Book of Isaiah in the Bible - that great work of Jewish warning, faith and hope during times of peril in exile; and the other is the collected works of Martin Luther King, Jr., the great American civil rights leader, whose annual commemoration day took place on Monday.

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Deborah Orr: The Tragic Truth About Collective Punishment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Deborah Orr - (Opinion) January 23, 2008 - 8:44pm

I wish in no way to condone Israel's wantonly cruel policy of laying siege to Gaza, which it has been pursuing ever since it withdrew from the territory in 2004. But I must say that I do find it a bit rich, this proposition that suddenly and uniquely Israel has resorted to "collective punishment" of the Palestinians. The awful truth is that collective punishment of the Palestinians has been used as a weapon in the Arab-Israeli conflict ever since the inception of the Israeli state, in all sorts of ways, by all sides.

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