Delusions of victory in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zvi Barel - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am As of yesterday, politicians and the public at large have been enthralled by a new prospect: that of a wide-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip. Such a prospect answers all their heart's secret wishes: Avenging the rocket fire by Gazan militants, reclaiming Israel's prestige, delivering a fatal blow to Hamas, providing payback for Israel's 2005 pullout from Gaza, sending a strong message to Iran, an implicit one to Hezbollah, and also showing the government's concern for its citizens and scoring some points with the electorate ahead of the elections. » Read more

Gratuitous massacre ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times December 28, 2008 - 1:00am Yesterday one could feel gloom and fury in the streets of Amman, as people were following with shock and horror news of Israel’s devastating, barbaric attacks on the Gaza Strip, which left more than 200 people dead and 300 wounded, 120 of them seriously. As soon as news of the attacks and their unprecedented toll were reported live by satellite television stations, Jordanians around the Kingdom took to the streets in spontaneous demonstrations to express solidarity with their helpless brethren in the impoverished, besieged strip. » Read more

Israel is poised for the latest act in a long history of tragic folly ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star December 27, 2008 - 1:00am It is no secret that the period of Hamas' rule in Gaza since 2007 has been one of little or no accomplishment and of supremely unimaginative leadership. The Islamist movement has provided its enemy with a pretext to bring ruin on the very people whose rights a resistance group is supposed to defend. » Read more

The Blood of Gaza…A Business Venture! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Tariq Alhomayed - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am A grim and bloody theatrical play named the "Palestinian cause" has been recurring for decades, with the same scenes, and lies; there is nothing new except for its victims. [A play with] opportunistic factions and Israeli crimes, and Arab denunciation and condemnation. What is the difference between what is happening in Gaza and what took place in the Israeli-Hezbollah War [2006 Lebanon War]? » Read more

With Gaza raid, Barak is back in the political ring ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Verter - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am Two months after Ehud Olmert was elected as Israel's prime minister, the Second Lebanon War broke out. Two months before Olmert departs, the military campaign in the south breaks out. » Read more

Israel plays for high stakes in Gaza attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Tobias Buck, Andrew England - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am Less than 28 months after the end of Israel’s botched war in Lebanon, the country has launched another massive assault against a militant Islamist group in the region. This time, the enemy is Hamas not Hizbollah. And this time, Israelis are hoping fervently that their political and military leaders know what they are doing. » Read more

Israel mounts PR campaign to blame Hamas for Gaza destruction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Toni O'Loughlin - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am Israel has mounted a public relations campaign to convince international hearts and minds that Hamas is to blame for the death and destruction they are seeing on their television screens. Stung by the wave of international criticism earlier this year when Israel invaded Gaza to stop militants firing rockets, in an operation dwarfed by its current attack, Israel decided to go on the offensive. » Read more

Israel calls up 6,000 military reservists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI) December 28, 2008 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The Israeli government Sunday approved a draft of more than 6,000 military reservists it says may be necessary for a ground offensive in Gaza, observers said. » Read more

Israeli troops kill 2 West bank Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press December 28, 2008 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank: Israeli troops in the West Bank shot dead a Palestinian man and gravely wounded another on Sunday during a violent protest against Israel's deadly air campaign against Gaza militants, the army and a Palestinian medic said. » Read more

Abbas blames Hamas for bloodshed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English December 28, 2008 - 1:00am Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has blamed Hamas for triggering Israel's deadly raids on Gaza, by not extending a six-month truce with the Jewish state. He also blamed Hamas, which controls the coastal Gaza Strip territory, for disrupting national unity talks that could have paved the way for general and presidential elections. "We have warned of this grave danger," he said in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday. "We talked to them [Hamas] and we told them, 'please, we ask you, do not end the truce. Let the truce continue and not stop", so that we could have avoided what happened." » Read more