June 11th, 2008

Cabinet: Israel Strives For Truce, Preparing For Gaza Op
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - June 11, 2008 - 5:18pm

Following Wednesday's five-hour Jerusalem meeting on the situation in Gaza, which took place in the midst of another mortar barrage on the western Negev, the political-security cabinet issued a statement saying Israel would give Egypt's efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian terror groups a chance but at the same time gear up for a possible wide-scale operation in the Strip.

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Shlomi’s Problem With Salam
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-ayyam
by Hassan Al-battal - June 11, 2008 - 5:14pm

A government that intended to advance the Palestinian agenda is actually doing that better than the eleven previous Fatah, unity, or nationalistic governments that preceded it. Fayyad’s government is President Abbas’s government, notwithstanding the implications by Riyad Al-Maliki, the information minister, who attended the 85th meeting of the government alongside the Palestinian Authority President.

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Israeli Army Detains 28 Palestinians In The West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna)
June 11, 2008 - 4:00pm

RAMALLAH, June 11 (KUNA) -- More than 28 Palestinians were detained during an Israeli incursion executed on early Wednesday in the West Bank. Israeli troops stormed Nablus, Balata refugee camp, and Jenin as well as Al-Khalil (Hebron) and Tulkarem, Palestinian sources said. Israeli radio claimed that the detainees were among the Israeli security authorities' wanted, noting that they are currently being interrogated.

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Israeli Settler Injured In Mortar Shelling That Started Fires – Spokesman
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna)
June 11, 2008 - 3:57pm

GAZA, June 11 (KUNA) -- An Israeli settler was injured and huge fire broke out in an agricultural filed on Wednesday when several mortar shells landed on the Israeli settlement of Nir-Oz, eastern Gaza Strip. An Israeli Army spokesman said that two mortar shells were fired early this morning from Gaza Strip targeting the Israeli settlement and injuring one of its residents, and also causing a fire in a farm.

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Israeli Troops Kill 3 Hamas Fighters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Hisham Aby Taha & Mohammed Mar’i - June 11, 2008 - 3:56pm

GAZA CITY/RAMALLAH, 11 June 2008 — Israeli troops killed three Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip yesterday as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with top ministers to weigh up a possible military offensive on the besieged territory.

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Palestinian Salaries Paid After Funds Released
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 11, 2008 - 3:53pm

RAMALLAH, West Bank Reuters) - Palestinian government workers received their wages almost a week late on Tuesday after Israel transferred tax revenues it held back over Palestinian attempts to block upgraded European-Israeli ties. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Monday the aid-dependent Palestinian government in the occupied West Bank had expected to receive tax revenues that Israel collects on its behalf on June 2 and to pay salaries two days later.

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Israeli Tank Fire Kills Girl In Gaza, Palestinians Say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 11, 2008 - 3:46pm

This week Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other top officials have been discussing ceasefire prospects and possible broader military action should Egypt's efforts fail. Israeli tank fire killed a 9-year-old Palestinian girl in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian medical workers said. They said the girl's remains had been recovered from a house in the village of Qarara, east of Khan Younis, which had been struck by the tank fire. She was inside at the time of the shelling.

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Olmert Rejects Gaza Strip Invasion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
June 11, 2008 - 3:42pm

JERUSALEM, June 11 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday he has shelved plans to launch an invasion of the Gaza Strip and will give truce talks with Hamas more time. Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, released a statement saying that although the government won't move on a much-anticipated decision to invade Gaza in an attempt to stop rocket and mortar fire aimed at Israeli settlements, the preparations for military action will continue, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

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June 10th

According to UPI Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert may be shelving plans to invade the Gaza strip in favor of continuing truce talks with Hamas, (1) while many voices weigh in on the issue (8) (9) (11) (12). Violence continues in and around Gaza (2) (4) (5). An article from Al-Ayyam daily, translated by ATFP, evaluates the leadership of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad (7). The Israeli government votes to broaden the legal definition of counterterrorism, lessening its accountability for IDF actions in the West Bank (10).

Palestinians: Israel Transfers Delayed Tax Money, But Millions Missing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - June 10, 2008 - 5:28pm

Israel transfered vital tax funds to the Palestinian Authority Tuesday, after holding up the money for a week, a Palestinian offical said. The transfer was delayed after Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called on the European Union and OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) not to upgrade their relations with Israel.

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