Stench Wafts Through Gaza As Sewage System Falters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Rebecca Harrison - January 22, 2008 - 7:04pm Yussef Al-Jayar jolted awake this week when gallons of raw sewage spewed out of the pumping station next door and started to seep under his door and into his mattress. "We had to grab buckets and get the neighbours to help bail us out," the 74-year-old Palestinian said at his house in Gaza City, pointing to a mark about a metre above the floor where the rancid water reached. "It stank." Jayar and his family have just about scraped all the black slime off their walls since the main pipe burst at Gaza City's water pump no. » Read more

Palestinian Group Sounds Like Al Qaeda But Forgoes Violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - January 22, 2008 - 7:01pm A new fundamentalist player is emerging in Palestinian politics. The group sounds like Hamas – or even Al Qaeda – but doesn't support suicide bombings or secret militias. In recent months, it has shown it can put tens of thousands of supporters into the streets. » Read more

Red Cross Warns Of Gaza Crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Eliane Engeler - January 22, 2008 - 7:00pm The international Red Cross issued a dire warning on the state of basic services in Gaza on Tuesday, calling on Israel to lift a blockade it has imposed in response to increased rocket attacks by Palestinian militants. Israel eased the siege for a day on Tueday, allowing in shipments of fuel and medicine. But the International Committee of the Red Cross said aid needed to be allowed into the territory on a regular basis to prevent a complete collapse of health and sanitary services. » Read more

Gazans Fear Crisis After Four Days Of Blockade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Ellen Knickmeyer - January 22, 2008 - 6:59pm Four days into an Israeli blockade that has cut off food and fuel to the Gaza Strip, residents of the strip contemplated Monday how long it would be until disaster hit. One family of 13, shivering in the cold, counted its eight remaining candles. A bakery that normally feeds thousands had three days' worth of flour. Hospital generators with enough fuel for three days and no spare parts powered incubators in which twin boys born 2 1/2 months prematurely were being kept alive, their thin chests heaving convulsively. » Read more