June 18th

Blair, Merkel To Help Palestinians Rebuild
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Andrew Bishop - June 18, 2008 - 4:44pm

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be hosting an inter-ministerial conference in Berlin on June 24 with the aim of rallying the international community around their effort to strengthen the Palestinian Authority's judicial and security capabilities.

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Hamas Feels It Benefits More From A Truce Than Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Shaul Arieli - (Opinion) June 18, 2008 - 4:41pm

The policy of "throwing away the keys" that characterized the Israeli withdrawal and removal of settlements from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005 played right into Hamas' hands as it sought to achieve political and social objectives based on a strategy of "armed struggle" and non-recognition of Israel.

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Israeli Parliament To Consider Early Election
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 18, 2008 - 4:14pm

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's parliament could hold a preliminary vote as early as June 25 on whether to dissolve itself and force an election that could replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, legislative officials said on Wednesday. Olmert has vowed to stay in office and continue to lead his Kadima party unless indicted in a corruption investigation that has drawn calls from political allies and foes alike for his resignation.

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Israel Ready To Ease Gaza Blockade If Truce Holds
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
June 18, 2008 - 4:10pm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned on Wednesday that Israel\'s imminent truce with Hamas in and around the Gaza Strip could be short-lived and said the military stood ready to act if it failed. "We have no illusion but that this truce is fragile and could be short-lived. Hamas has not changed its skin," Olmert said at a conference in Bet Yehoshua, north of Tel Aviv.

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A Conversation With Richard Falk
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation
by Linda Marmoun - June 18, 2008 - 4:09pm

In the course of a scholarly life that has spanned more than five decades and includes fifty-four books and dozens more articles, Richard Falk has received a great deal of criticism--from the right and from the left. Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton, is considered one of the world's most prominent critics of US interventionism. This distinction alone would explain why he is disliked by many foreign policy hawks.

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As Israeli Siege Strangles Gaza Strip, Hamas, Smugglers Profit Off Tunnels
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Griff Witte - June 18, 2008 - 4:07pm

RAFAH, Gaza Strip -- Deep beneath the sands of this battle-scarred border town, Abu Mosab is making a fortune. The money comes in the form of blue jeans, candy bars, cigarettes, shoes, refrigerator parts, gasoline and generic Viagra. All of it and more passes through Abu Mosab's subterranean tunnel as it makes its way from Egypt to Gaza. And all of it is highly profitable because of a strict Israeli blockade that, officially at least, has kept out all but the most basic supplies. For smugglers such as Abu Mosab, the siege has been their salvation.

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Israel Agrees To Truce With Hamas On Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - June 18, 2008 - 4:05pm

JERUSALEM — The prime minister and defense minister of Israel have agreed to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire with Hamas for the Gaza area starting Thursday, Israel Radio reported on Wednesday morning. Egyptian and Hamas officials had already announced on Tuesday that a deal had been reached. An unidentified senior Egyptian official told the state news agency MENA, "The Palestinian and Israeli sides have accepted the first stage of a reciprocal and simultaneous period of calm, starting in the Gaza Strip, from 0600 on Thursday."

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Op-ed: Miscalculation, How Hamas Wastes Palestinian Lives
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) June 18, 2008 - 4:04pm

Since Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza last June, a pattern of tit-for-tat provocation has defined the organization's relationship with Israel. One side launches an attack, the other side responds with disproportionate or indiscriminate force. The period of escalation then tapers off until the next flare-up, which generally involves increased intensity, more civilian casualties and higher-grade weaponry. This spiraling escalation has created a self-reinforcing logic, leading inexorably to a major Israeli operation in Gaza.

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June 17th

An Op-Ed by Dr. Ziad Asali warns of the grave dangers of a possible Israeli military action in Gaza (1). A truce is reached between Hamas and Israel (2) (7) (9) (10). Two articles look at the effects and future of the Gaza blockade (3) (5). The Israeli Knesset considers holding early elections (6). The IDF announces plans to remove some roadblocks in the West Bank region of Kalkilya in exchange for what it calls “a cessation of local terror activity” (11). An ATFP translation of an article in Al-Ayyam Daily looks at the situation in Palestine one year after the Hamas takeover of Gaza (12).

Senior Idf Officer Warns Lull Will Be Temporary, Fragile
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Atilla Somfalvi - June 17, 2008 - 5:29pm

IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi spoke before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday and said that while the IDF is giving the ceasefire between Israel and the militant groups in Gaza a chance, it will continue preparing for an operation in the Gaza Strip.

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