January 3rd, 2009

Arabs turn on Egypt for collusion over siege
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Heba Saleh - December 29, 2008 - 1:00am

Tens of thousands of Arabs took to the streets for the second day on Monday to protest against Israel’s deadly assault on Gaza as a huge wave of anger spreads across the Middle East. But it is not just the Jewish state that is being lambasted, as Egypt increasingly finds itself the target of people’s fury with accusations that Cairo has colluded with Israel in its siege.

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Egypt Pressed on Gaza From Without and Within
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Steven Erlanger - January 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Egypt is the crucial, if reluctant, intermediary between Israel and Hamas, which is no great friend of this moderate secular government. Still, a sustained Israeli ground operation in neighboring Gaza would sharply increase public pressure on President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt to do more to help the Palestinians there.

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Diplomats consider international force to monitor any cease-fire in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News
by Dion Nissenbaum, Warren P. Strobel - January 2, 2009 - 1:00am

After a week of Israeli bombardment of the Gaza strip, Israel, Arab countries and the United States are discussing how to create an international force that would safeguard an eventual cease-fire, diplomats said Friday. A key part of the arrangement, they said, is that the main Palestinian rival to the ruling Hamas party would be asked to take charge of border crossings.

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Israel aims to cripple Hamas, warn other foes: experts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
January 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel has thousands of troops massed for a ground offensive on Gaza that would aim to deal a hammer blow to Hamas and re-establish Israel's military credentials with its other foes, experts said. After Israel's 2006 war in Lebanon, widely condemned as a fiasco, this campaign has been scrupulously prepared and few experts believe Hamas can halt the waiting army. The number of troops and tanks along the 60 kilometre (37 mile) border is a military secret but Israeli leaders say the force is ready and local media say the assault is imminent.

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'Critical emergency' after air strike every 20 minutes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rory McCarthy - January 3, 2009 - 1:00am

for the Middle East, blamed the conflict on "the irresponsibility of Hamas rocket attacks and the excessiveness of Israel's response". He said a ceasefire was needed to halt the violence but added: "We must create new conditions on the ground to ensure this does not happen again."

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Israel kills third Hamas leader since start of Gaza offensive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Yoav Stern - January 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel Air Force warplanes stepped up airstrikes on the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, bombing more than 40 Hamas targets over the course of the day and killing the third senior Hamas official since Israel's aerial assault began last Saturday. Abu Zakaria al-Jamal, a commander of the Hamas armed wing, died of wounds sustained in an airstrike overnight. On Saturday morning, Israel Radio quoted a spokesman for the Hamas military wing as saying it had repelled an attempt by Israel Defense Forces soldiers to infiltrate the Shajaiyeh section of Gaza City.

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January 2nd

Israel’s air attacks against Gaza continue for a seventh day, and a ground attack seems imminent (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). The Chicago Tribune examines the role of Israeli domestic politics in the attack, while The New York Times asks what this means for Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton (10, 12). Deep divisions in Arab reaction to the violence continue, while international leaders call for an end to the carnage (11, 13, 14).

Humanity’s stake in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Vaclav Havel, Hans Kung, Mike Moore, Yohei Sasakawa, Karel Schwarzenberg, El Hassan bin Talal, Desmond Tutu - (Opinion) January 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Wasted time is always to be regretted. But in the Middle East, wasting time is also dangerous. Another year has now passed with little progress in bridging the divide between Palestinians and Israelis. The current air strikes on Gaza, and continuing rocket attacks on Ashkelon, Sderot and other towns in southern Israel, only prove how dire the situation is becoming.

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The Palestinian Blood at the Service of the Extremists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Elias Harfoush - (Opinion) January 2, 2009 - 1:00am

This is not the first time throughout the lengthy history of the bloody conflict between the Palestinians and Israel that the Israeli killing machine devotes its most intense slaughtering tools to annihilate the largest number possible of the Palestinians.

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Clinton, Familiar With Pitfalls of Mideast Politics, May Face Early Test in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Lander - (Opinion) January 2, 2009 - 1:00am

When Hillary Rodham Clinton ran for a New York Senate seat nine years ago, she labored to persuade skeptical Jewish voters of her support for Israel, after an incident in which she stood by as the wife of Yasir Arafat delivered an inflammatory attack on Israeli policies.

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