November 16th

Palestinians detached from Sidon instability ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Mohammed Zaatari - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am SIDON, Lebanon: Palestinian officials are concerned about mounting sectarian tension in Sidon’s Taamir neighborhood, and stress that they want to remain detached from Lebanese affairs. The comments were made following armed clashes which erupted there last weekend between supporters of Salafist Sheikh Ahmad Assir and Hezbollah supporters, killing three. Also, Tuesday night, an explosion ripped through Taamir, close to the site of Sunday’s deadly clashes, damaging seven vehicles but causing no injuries. » Read more

Deterrence is the idea behind Israel’s strikes in Gaza, but how far will conflict with Hamas go? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ben Sales - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am SDEROT, Israel (JTA) -- Wage war to get peace. That’s the idea behind Israel’s strikes this week against Hamas targets in Gaza, including Wednesday’s attack that killed Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari. What’s not clear is how far Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense will go, what price Israeli civilians will pay in the conflict, whether it will succeed in its goal of deterring Hamas from future attacks on Israel and what consequences there might be for Jerusalem’s fragile relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood-led government in Egypt. » Read more

Under attack, Gazans preparing to apply lessons of Cast Lead ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Abeer Ayyoub - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am Just like every time: three, four, maybe five days at the max, this round of escalation will be over. This is how Gazans have been dealing with the constant rounds of escalation recently, and unexceptionally, me too. But exceptionally, this time was different: the volume of violence was higher - no surprise, as the resistance went much further. Targeting the jeep on the Israeli border wasn’t something that Israel would let go easily; therefore, an Israeli reaction was definitely expected – just not this big. » Read more

UN agency says one of its teachers killed by Israeli airstrike on Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 16, 2012 - 1:00am UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- A UN agency working for Palestinian refugees said that one of its teachers was killed in northern Gaza on Thursday by an Israeli airstrike, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters here. "The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) says that one of its teachers was killed on Thursday by an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza," Nesirky said at a daily news briefing here. » Read more

Hamas, Jihad claimed responsibility for rockets landing near Tel Aviv ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 16, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The armed wings of Islamic Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad on Thursday claimed responsibility for firing two Iranian-made Fajr rockets that landed in Jaffa and Rishon Kitzion, south of Israel's Tel Aviv. The two groups said in two separate leaflets emailed to reporters that their militants fired the rockets in response to the killing of Ahmed al-Jaabari, head of the Hamas armed wing, by Israel on Wednesday. » Read more

Israel and Hamas battle on social media as well ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Lauren E. Bohn - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM —The hostilities between Israel and Hamas have found a new battleground: social media.The Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas militants have exchanged fiery tweets throughout the fighting in a separate war to influence public opinion. Shortly after it launched its campaign Wednesday by killing Hamas' top military commander Ahmed Jabari, the Israeli military's media office announced a "widespread campaign on terror sites & operatives in the (hash)Gaza Strip" on its Twitter account. » Read more

Signs mount of possible Israeli invasion of Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM —Israeli aircraft pummeled rocket launching operations of Gaza militants on Friday, and as troops, tanks and armored personnel carriers massed near the Palestinian territory, signaling a ground invasion might be growing near. Fighting between the two sides escalated sharply Thursday with a first-ever militant attack on the Tel Aviv area, menacing Israel's heartland. No casualties were reported, but three people died in the country's rocket-scarred south when a projectile slammed into an apartment building. » Read more

Egypt asks US to end Israel’s operation in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times of Israel November 15, 2012 - 1:00am CAIRO (AP) — Egypt asked the United States to push Israel to stop its offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, warning that the violence could “escalate out of control,” the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. » Read more

Obama presses Egypt to help rein in Hamas as Gaza conflict escalates ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Chris McGreal, Harriet Sherwood - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am Barack Obama is pressing the Egyptian leadership to help de-escalate the bloody conflict in Gaza amid concern that a further ratcheting up of violence, such as a major Israeli ground assault, could damage the peace accords between Cairo and Jerusalem. » Read more

With Gaza Attacks, Egypt’s President Balances Hamas Against Israeli Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mayy El Sheikh, David Kirkpatrick - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am CAIRO — The escalating conflict in Gaza has confronted President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt with a wrenching test of his commitments — to his fellow Islamists of the militant group Hamas and to Egypt’s landmark peace agreement with Israel. » Read more