Israel Versus Hamas: How to Shape a Ceasefire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time by Tony Karon - December 31, 2008 - 1:00am In the end, Israel and Hamas both know that there will be a cease-fire in Gaza. Its timing and terms will be "negotiated" in bombs and bloodshed in the days ahead; it will be mediated by a third party or a combination of third parties; and it will be shaped by a complex regional power game involving an array of competing Israeli politicians, the rival Palestinian leaderships of Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas, Egypt, Syria and even more distant players such as Turkey, Iran and, of course, the United States. » Read more

Israel's goal, and Hamas': a cease-fire on better terms ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Mkhaimar Abusada - (Opinion) December 31, 2008 - 1:00am The truce between Hamas and Israel ended in the early hours of December 19, but the accusations over why it ended have followed the missiles and rockets across the border. Hamas accuses Israel of not complying with the terms of the six-month Egyptian-mediated truce under which Israel was expected to end its siege and blockade of the Gaza Strip, reopen the commercial border crossing between Gaza and Israel and halt its military activities against Gazans. » Read more

Behind Gaza Operation, An Uneasy Triumvirate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Griff Witte - December 31, 2008 - 1:00am Three Israeli leaders met in secret Friday to review the plan of attack, according to a government spokesman. The targets had been selected, the warplanes readied. Clear skies were forecast over the Gaza Strip. Hours later, Israeli forces began an aerial assault against the Hamas movement that caught nearly everyone by surprise. » Read more

Hamas: PA conspiring with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - December 31, 2008 - 1:00am As the IDF offensive concluded its fourth day on Tuesday, Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority of planning to return to the Gaza Strip with the help of Israel. According to a report published by the Hamas-affiliated Palestine Information Center Web site, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has ordered his officials in Ramallah to set up an "emergency room" to prepare for reassuming control over the Gaza Strip after the Hamas government is toppled by Israel. It said the emergency room consisted of commanders of the PA security forces and the interior minister. » Read more

While Israel fights in Gaza, Egypt and Saudi Arabia take on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jonathan Spyer - (Opinion) December 31, 2008 - 1:00am Israel's campaign in Gaza is serving to expose the strategic fault lines in the Arab and Muslim world. The essential divide is between, on the one hand, states aligned with the West - chief among them Egypt and Saudi Arabia - and on the other an alliance led by Iran, of which Hamas forms a part. Israel's action in Gaza has led to unprecedented tensions between representatives of these rival blocs. Because of the strategic importance of Egyptian control of the Rafah Crossing, this divide also has immediate practical implications for the direction and likely outcome of the current battle. » Read more

Arabs outraged by bloodshed in Gaza venting their anger at Egypt, as much as at Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Sarah El Deeb - December 30, 2008 - 1:00am The Israeli bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip has unleashed outrage across the Middle East — but the anger is being vented as much against Egypt as it is at Israel. Protesters have attacked Egyptian embassies, accusing Cairo of helping Israel's longtime blockade of the territory and even giving a green light for the offensive — a sign of the gulf between an Arab public and some U.S.-allied governments that dislike Gaza's Hamas rulers. » Read more

Moderate Arab States Feel Popular Anger ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Robert Worth - December 30, 2008 - 1:00am After four days of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, an outpouring of popular anger is putting pressure on American allies in the Arab world and appears to be worsening divisions in the region. The sharpest rhetorical attacks have been aimed at Egypt, which is widely seen as having aided the Israeli campaign by closing its border with Gaza. » Read more

Behind closed doors, U.S. seeks Israel exit strategy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Paul Richter - December 31, 2008 - 1:00am While publicly declaring strong support for Israel, the Bush administration is increasingly nervous about the 4-day-old campaign in the Gaza Strip and is urging its ally to settle on a timetable and exit strategy, say foreign diplomats and Middle East experts close to the discussions. U.S. officials are concerned that the campaign could drag on without destroying Hamas, and might even bolster support for the militant group -- just as the 2006 Israeli campaign in Lebanon strengthened Hezbollah, they say. » Read more

Defiant Hamas Says It Can Outlast Israel as Gaza Strip Smolders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg by Saud Abu Ramadan, Jonathan Ferziger - December 31, 2008 - 1:00am Amid the smoldering ruins of European-built ministries demolished by air raids, Hamas leaders say they are confident of their ability to outlast the Israeli military onslaught in the Gaza Strip. “Our people are willing to pay the price and resist this brutality,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a telephone interview from Gaza. “Israel will eventually weaken, and the popularity of Hamas will only grow.” » Read more

IAF bombs Gaza mosque being used as weapons storehouse ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - December 31, 2008 - 1:00am The Israel Air Force on Wednesday evening bombed a mosque in a southern Gaza Strip which Hamas had been using to store part of its rocket arsenal. Shin Bet officials said that over the last few days, Palestinian militants have been seen carrying Katyusha and Qassam rockets, as well as a large supply of other weapons, around the vicinity of the mosque. The Shin Vet said that these weapons were destroyed in the IAF strike. » Read more