The Middle East shouldn’t fret about Charles Freeman’s exit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Michael Young - (Opinion) March 19, 2009 - 12:00am When the former American ambassador Charles “Chas” Freeman last week decided not to accept his appointment as chairman of the National Intelligence Council, many people, particularly in the Middle East, put this down to the workings of the pro-Israel lobby in Washington. Mr Freeman, in a departing salvo, substantiated that interpretation. » Read more

Can Israel dismiss its own troops' stories from Gaza? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - (Analysis) March 19, 2009 - 12:00am The statements of the Israel Defense Forces soldiers from the Yitzhak Rabin preparatory course provide the first, uncensored look at what occurred in some of the combat units in Operation Cast Lead. It seems that what soldiers have to say is actually the way things happened in the field, most of the time. And as usual, reality is completely different from the gentler version provided by the military commanders to the public and media during the operation and after. » Read more

IDF in Gaza: Killing civilians, vandalism, and lax rules of engagement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - March 19, 2009 - 12:00am During Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces killed Palestinian civilians under permissive rules of engagement and intentionally destroyed their property, say soldiers who fought in the offensive. The soldiers are graduates of the Yitzhak Rabin pre-military preparatory course at Oranim Academic College in Tivon. Some of their statements made on Feb. 13 will appear Thursday and Friday in Haaretz. Dozens of graduates of the course who took part in the discussion fought in the Gaza operation. » Read more

Israeli Soldiers Break Ranks over Gaza War ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters March 19, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's military was rocked on Thursday by Gaza war veterans' accounts of the killing of civilians and allegations that deep contempt for Palestinians pervaded its ranks. The soldiers, alumni of a military academy, gathered last month to discuss their experiences in the 22-day Israeli offensive that ended in January, a campaign that Palestinians and human rights groups have said warranted war crimes probes. » Read more

Israel seizes West Bank Hamas men ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News March 19, 2009 - 12:00am Israel has detained 10 senior Hamas leaders in the West Bank two days after indirect talks between the two sides on a possible prisoner swap collapsed. An Israeli military spokeswomen described them as "terror operatives"; Hamas said they included four MPs, a former deputy PM and an academic. Israeli forces and the rival West Bank Palestinian leadership have clamped down on the militant group since 2007. That was when Hamas took sole control of Gaza, which is blockaded by Israel. » Read more