March 13th

Israeli lawmakers nix U.S. conference over visa rejection ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A delegation of Israeli lawmakers will not attend a Washington conference because the United States has barred entry to one member because he belonged to a banned terrorist group. Knesset member Michael Ben Ari of the right-wing National Union party had been affiliated with Kach, the anti-Arab group founded in the 1970s by the late Meir Kahane. Kach is banned in the United States, the European Union and Canada, and outlawed in Israel. » Read more

Yair Lapid: Palestinians not ready to make peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gil Hoffman - March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Journalist turned politician Yair Lapid blamed the Palestinians for the failure to reach a breakthrough in the peace process in a speech on Monday at Tel Aviv University. Lapid distanced himself from politicians on the Left who have blamed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for the diplomatic stalemate. “I don’t like the tendency to blame the Israeli side,” Lapid said. “Most of the blame belongs to the Palestinian side, and I am not sure that they as a people are ready to make peace with us.” » Read more

Study: Children struggle to cope after Israeli detention ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 13, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Thousands of Palestinian children struggle with mental health problems and reintegration into society after they are detained by Israel, a new report on child detention says. According to the study released by Save the Children Sweden and YMCA-East Jerusalem on Monday, 90.6 percent of detained children suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after release. » Read more

Gaza-Israel clashes: The view from each side ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Rupert Wingfield-Hayes - March 13, 2012 - 12:00am Sitting in the centre of Gaza City this mini-conflict has an almost surreal quality. With the windows open, a distant rumble very like thunder rolled across the city each time an Israeli strike hit home. But down below on the streets the cars kept passing, the shops stayed open, pedestrians kept walking home with their groceries. After years of blockade and repeated rounds of air strikes Gazans appear almost inured to the endless conflict. Further out of the city, closer to the Israeli border, the atmosphere is different. The streets are quieter. » Read more

Gaza-Israel clashes: The view from each side ATFP World Press Roundup Article from December 31, 1969 - 8:00pm Sitting in the centre of Gaza City this mini-conflict has an almost surreal quality. With the windows open, a distant rumble very like thunder rolled across the city each time an Israeli strike hit home. But down below on the streets the cars kept passing, the shops stayed open, pedestrians kept walking home with their groceries. After years of blockade and repeated rounds of air strikes Gazans appear almost inured to the endless conflict. Further out of the city, closer to the Israeli border, the atmosphere is different. The streets are quieter. » Read more

Israel lets aid into Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yoav Zitun - March 13, 2012 - 12:00am Israel’s Ministry of Defense has decided to leave border crossings between Gaza and Israel open despite ongoing rocket attacks, in order to allow a flow of goods and aid delivered from Israel to the people of Gaza. Following the decision, the Kerem Shalom crossing remained open on Monday even though three mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip landed on the Palestinian side of the crossing. During the latest round of fighting in the Gaza region, approximately 50 rockets aimed at Israel landed in Palestinian territory. » Read more

Toll rises in Israel-Gaza Strip crossfire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Reporting from Jerusalem— The toll on civilians from violence between the Israeli military and militants based in the Gaza Strip rose Monday as three Palestinians — a 15-year-old boy on his way to school and a father and daughter walking in the street — were killed by Israeli airstrikes, Palestinian officials said. » Read more

Hamas: Egypt offered fuel in return for calm ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 13, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Egypt offered to provide fuel to Gaza if militants agree to a ceasefire with Israel, Hamas-affiliated MP Younis al-Astal said Monday. The Gaza Strip has faced up to 18-hour blackouts per day since Egypt cut fuel supplies through an underground tunnel network, and officials are negotiating an emergency route to stave the power crisis. Gaza's sole power station shut down on Saturday evening for the third time in the past month. » Read more

Egypt-mediated truce calms Israel-Gaza border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Karin Brulliard - March 13, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — A reported truce mediated by Egypt on Tuesday appeared to bring a shaky calm to the most intense cross-border fighting in three years between Israel and militants based in Gaza Strip. The cease-fire, which Egyptian state media said took effect hours before dawn on Tuesday, is intended to halt a four-day cycle of more than 300 militant-fired rockets into southern Israel and dozens of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Though both sides have warned that the conflict could expand, neither has seemed inclined to escalate to all-out war. » Read more

As Rockets Fly, New Conditions Shape Fight in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram, Isabel Kershner - March 12, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Cross-border fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza continued for a fourth day on Monday, with the Palestinian death toll rising from Israeli airstrikes and the militants’ rockets reaching farther into Israel. » Read more