December 9th

Israel reopens crossings with Gaza to aid, fuel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
December 9, 2008 - 1:00am

Israel has reopened its crossings with Gaza to shipments of humanitarian aid and fuel. International journalists are also being allowed in. The Israeli military says 45 trucks of food and medical supplies are to pass through on Tuesday, along with shipments of cooking gas and fuel for Gaza's power plant. The military says cargo and passenger crossings were reopened because of a lull Monday in attacks by Gaza militants on Israel.

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Does Hebron clash signal new round of settler revolts?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - December 9, 2008 - 1:00am

The violence here last week that started with the Israeli army evacuating ultranationalist settlers from a disputed house was captured on film and broadcast around the world. One thing it made clear for many was the extent to which extreme right-wing Jewish settlers have gone beyond the control of the Israeli government and army. There are differing story lines that describe exactly what happened, but what isn't in dispute, because it was recorded on video, is this:

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December 8th

Speculation about President-elect Obama's Middle East strategy continues as his team is assembled (1) (5) (10) (11). In blockaded Gaza, cash shortages prompt a dire warning from the World Bank about the potential collapse of the commercial banking system (2) (8). Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem experience increased pressure and tensions (3). A report issued by an Israeli human rights group likens the Israeli occupation to South African apartheid (6). American Jewish groups largely back Israel's recent decision to evacuate settlers from a Hebron building (7). Israel reimposes the ban on international journalists entering Gaza, despite much protest (9).

This election's real meaning
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) December 8, 2008 - 1:00am

It happened four weeks before the heroic evacuation of the House of Contention in Hebron. In the middle of the night, police officers entered a small apartment in the Shimon Hatzadik compound in the Sheikh Jarra neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The police officers easily overwhelmed a handful of human-rights activists and evicted the al-Kurd family, which had lived there for 52 years.

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Following settler attacks, Hebron residents feel anger and fear
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Brenda Gazzar - December 8, 2008 - 1:00am

Hebron resident Faez Rajabi was feeling a mix of emotions on Sunday. On the one hand, he was pleased that the disputed four-story apartment building in Hebron that he built for himself and his family was no longer inhabited by settlers. On the other, he lamented the turmoil that erupted during Thursday's eviction of the settlers from the home, as mostly young extremist settlers attacked policemen, set homes and cars on fire, shot at residents and broke windows and satellite dishes.

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Obama Could End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Counterpunch
by Yinon Cohen, Neve Gordon - December 5, 2008 - 1:00am

As Barack Obama enters the oval office he will face a series of daunting challenges. One of these is confronting the age old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been seriously, yet unsuccessfully, tackled by every American president since Jimmy Carter. The inability to reach a peaceful solution has not only had fatal repercussions for the people residing in Israel and the Occupied Territories, but has also been detrimental to Middle East stability and to vital US interests in the region.

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Obama spells end of blank cheques for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
December 7, 2008 - 1:00am

Israel can no longer expect "blank cheques" from Washington once president-elect Barack Obama's administration takes over in January, a former US ambassador to the Jewish state said on Sunday. "The era of the blank cheque is over," said Martin Indyk, director of the Centre for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute who is considered close to incoming secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

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Israel reimposes ban on international journalists in Gaza, despite protests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Steve Weizman - December 8, 2008 - 1:00am

Israeli defense officials have reinstated a ban on international journalists entering the Gaza Strip, despite protests from the heads of major news organizations and an appeal to the Supreme Court. After weeks of media protests, the ban was lifted Thursday, only to be re-imposed the following day as part of a wider closure of the Gaza border in response to Palestinian rocket attacks.

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World Bank warns of possible Gaza bank collapse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
December 6, 2008 - 1:00am

The World Bank said on Saturday that Israel's tightened blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip had created cash shortages that could lead to the collapse of banks in the impoverished Palestinian territory. Also sounding an alarm, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the spiraling Gazan crisis risked bolstering Palestinian militants who have alternative supplies of cash and contraband thanks to smuggling tunnels from neighboring Egypt.

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Jewish groups back Israel on Hebron
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
December 7, 2008 - 1:00am

U.S. Jewish groups for the most part backed Israel's evacuation of settlers from a Hebron building and condemned settler violence.

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