November 20th

Clinton Visits in Effort to Defuse Gaza Conflict; Egypt Hints at Truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Peter Baker, Eytan Gilboa, Rick Gladstone, Isabel Kershner - (Analysis) November 20, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Diplomatic efforts accelerated on Tuesday to end the deadly confrontation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, as the United States sent Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Middle East and Egypt’s president and his senior aides expressed confidence that a cease-fire was close. » Read more

A Palestine That Israelis Can't See ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Sam Bahour - (Opinion) November 18, 2012 - 1:00am The status quo in Palestine and Israel is unsustainable. Anyone involved in the reality on the ground in this part of the world knows this for a fact. As such, one can view the current Palestinian bid to the United Nations General Assembly for non-member state status as a last-ditch effort by the secular Palestinian leadership to save whatever may be remaining of the two-state paradigm as the basis to ending Israel’s 45 years of military occupation. » Read more

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 2 children, 12 others ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) November 20, 2012 - 1:00am Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon killed two children, and at least twelve others, bringing the day's death toll to 21. » Read more

Hamas finds cause to smile under Israeli assault ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - (Opinion) November 18, 2012 - 1:00am   » Read more

The third front ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Nahum Barnea - (Opinion) November 16, 2012 - 1:00am In political terms, a military maneuver is always risky. What appears in the beginning as a glorious move may turn out to be an electoral disaster. This is why most politicians hate launching a military campaign on the eve of elections. A military operation entails giving up control. The candidate's fate is in the hands of others – a pilot's error, a rocket that lands on a day care center, civilians not following safety guidelines. » Read more

A Pillar of Problems ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Jonathan Schanzer - (Opinion) November 16, 2012 - 1:00am   Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense, after three days of air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza, could be entering into a new phase of a larger ground invasion. While the war has been dissected six ways to Sunday, there are still gaping holes in our understanding of it, and several questions remain unanswered. Here are eight of them. » Read more

Rampant butchery ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star (Editorial) November 19, 2012 - 1:00am   What is happening in Gaza right now is an exact deja vu of four years ago, albeit with stronger Palestinian rockets. Then, as now, the conflict was completely unbalanced, the rapidly growing civilian Palestinian death count evidence of that, should proof be needed. » Read more

Mursi and Hamas in a predicament ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Tariq al-Homayed - (Opinion) November 18, 2012 - 1:00am   For three days of Israeli aggression on Gaza, Hamas flatly rejected calls for mediation and said that those who want to go down that route should go to Egypt. But yesterday the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Mousa Abu Marzouk, hinted at the possibility of accepting mediation with Israel, and not only this, he also stressed the need to go to the United Nations and complete President Abbas’ project, even though Abbas has not been enthusiastic about Hamas in the past. » Read more

Hamas pragmatists lose out in leadership struggle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - (Opinion) November 18, 2012 - 1:00am   No one doubted that Hamas would hit back when its military commander was blown up by an Israeli air strike. » Read more

Old rivalries, new allies as Hamas fights to save face ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Dalia Hatuqa - (Opinion) November 19, 2012 - 1:00am   On July 22, 2002, shortly after midnight, an Israeli F-16 warplane dropped a one-tonne bomb on a house in a crowded neighbourhood in Gaza City, killing 13 civilians, including women and children. The target: Salah Shehadeh, a high-ranking Hamas leader, who was one of the founders of the faction's military arm, the Izzedine Al Qassam Brigades. » Read more