January 6th, 2009

Blair: Closing smuggling routes key to ceasefire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Andrew Woodcock - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is attainable within days if the smuggling routes which supply arms and money to Hamas can be shut down, international envoy Tony Blair said today. Mr Blair said that the Hamas movement, which holds power in the Palestinian enclave, is in contact with Egypt over the issue and that Cairo is prepared in principle to take action. All "responsible" players in the region should be working towards an immediate cessation of the hostilities which have now entered their 11th day, he said. » Read more

Gaza civilian death toll rises steeply ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rory McCarthy, Chris McGreal - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am The civilian death toll in Gaza increased dramatically today, with at least 12 members of an extended family, including seven young children, killed in an air strike on their house in Gaza City while the bombing of two United Nations schools being used as shelters took 13 lives. The bodies of the Daya family were pulled from the rubble of a house in Gaza City's Zeitoun area after it was hit by two Israeli missiles. The dead included seven children aged from one to 12 years, three women and two men. Nine other people were believed to be trapped in the rubble. » Read more

Israel hits UN school, nears major Gaza towns ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak, Steve Weizman - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am Israeli forces edged closer to Gaza's major population centers on Tuesday and attacked new sites, including a U.N. school, taking more civilian lives after ignoring mounting international calls for an immediate cease-fire. A Palestinian rocket attack wounded an Israeli infant. The United Nations said three civilians were killed in the airstrike on its school, where hundreds of people from a Gaza City refugee camp had gone to seek shelter from Israel's blistering 11-day offensive against the Hamas militant group. » Read more

Broker a Gaza cease-fire now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times (Editorial) January 6, 2009 - 1:00am In the densely populated Gaza Strip, Hamas is ensconced in houses, schools and mosques, fighting under cover of civilians. Israel, meanwhile, has bombed extensively, sent in ground forces to cut off Gaza City and taken up positions atop apartment buildings, with residents inside. More than 550 Palestinians have been killed and 2,000 wounded since the Israeli offensive began Dec. 27. At least a quarter of the victims are civilians, many of them children. » Read more

Two Years Later: Two Wars and One Ideology ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Elias Harfoush - (Opinion) January 5, 2009 - 1:00am The confrontation between the Israeli army and the Hamas movement following the ground invasion of Gaza is similar in many aspects to the confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah in summer 2006. » Read more

Hezbollah…. Is this your Vision for Gaza? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Tariq Alhomayed - (Opinion) January 5, 2009 - 1:00am One can only feel sadness with regards to what is happening in the Gaza Strip, which can only be described as a brutal and ruthless Israeli attack in the face of clear international inability to call a halt to this continued aggression on almost 1.5 million Gazans. » Read more

CNN NEWSROOM TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT: Crisis between Gaza and Israel deepens ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN January 5, 2009 - 1:00am Aired January 5, 2009 - 09:00 ET HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Two huge stories and the world is watching this morning. Sirens well and explosions thunder in Gaza. The crisis with Israel deepens. And in Washington, an incoming president and his new challenges. Barack Obama gets to work today on the nation's lousy economy. New details on his plans and what they could mean to you. Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Today is Monday, January 5th and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM…. Joining us now from Washington, Dr. Ziad Asali. He's with the American Task Force on Palestine. » Read more

Israeli Strike Hits Refugees Near a U.N. School in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Taghreed El-Khodary, Isabel Kershner - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am Despite mounting diplomatic pressure to end its offensive in Gaza, Israel’s military onslaught unfolded for an 11th day on Tuesday amid reports that it had struck near a United Nations school, killing at least 30 people among hundreds who had sought refuge from the fighting. » Read more

Forty-two killed after Israeli shell hits UN school in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by James Hider - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am Forty-two women and children were killed in an attack at a UN-run school in Gaza today, the third such assault in 24 hours. The attack, which appeared to come from an air strike from two Israeli F16s, happened at the al-Fakhora school in Jabaliya refugee camp, causing carnage inside and outside the building, where hundreds of Palestinians had sought refuge from fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants. Initial reports had said the devastation was caused by a tank shell exploding. » Read more

Mideast political conundrum: Settlement expansion is a threat to peace negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) January 6, 2009 - 1:00am The renewed violence between Israel and Hamas, in which 1.5 million innocent Palestinians are caught, is yet another definitive demonstration that there is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel will not be able to secure its future, normalize its relations with the region and live in peace without an agreement with the Palestinians; Palestinians will not achieve liberation and independence without an agreement with Israel. » Read more