Haniyeh: Hamas won Gaza war, but was wise to declare truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - January 19, 2009 - 1:00am Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Sunday that Israel's three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip was a failure and had not cowed the Palestinians, but praised his movement for deciding to declare a cease-fire. "The enemy has failed to achieve its goals," Ismail Haniyeh, the top Hamas leader in the territory, said in a speech broadcast on Hamas television. Though he called the war, in which more than 1,300 Gazans and 13 Israelis died, a "popular victory" for Palestinians, Haniyeh said Hamas's decision to declare a truce on Sunday was "wise and responsible". » Read more

Gaza: so what really happened? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Anne Penketh - (Analysis) January 19, 2009 - 1:00am It started with "shock and awe" at 7.30pm on 27 December as flares lit up the skies and 100 tons of bombs rained down on the Gaza Strip in the space of 24 hours. Israel declared it was time to put an end to the Hamas rockets terrorising its people, as the world's leaders enjoyed a Christmas break. It ended with a fragile ceasefire shored up by the international community after a three-week military campaign that resulted in the deaths of 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis - and calls for an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes. » Read more

Parsing Gains of Gaza War ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) January 19, 2009 - 1:00am The Parliament building here has been reduced to rubble. The five-story engineering department of the Islamic University is a pile of folded concrete. Police stations, mosques and hundreds of homes have been blown away. » Read more

Israel Begins Pullout; Gazans Survey Debris ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Jonathan Finer, Craig Whitlock - January 19, 2009 - 1:00am Israeli soldiers flashed the victory sign Sunday as they began withdrawing from the Gaza Strip. Shellshocked Palestinians emerged from shelters and counted their dead. But as a tenuous cease-fire took hold, few people on either side predicted an end to the cycle of violence that has endured for generations. The 22-day war ended without surrender. Neither Israel nor Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza, made any concessions, except to stop fighting temporarily. » Read more

Palestinians mourn Gaza dead, gape at destruction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - January 19, 2009 - 1:00am Mourning tents dotted the Gaza Strip on Monday as Palestinians gathered to remember loved ones among the 1,300 people killed by Israeli forces. Saber Jnaid said his son, a Hamas fighter, had been killed 12 days ago during Israel's 22-day onslaught on the Islamist militant group. He could not formally receive condolences until fighting stopped on Sunday and Israeli forces pulled back. "May God make the Islamic resistance stronger," the grey-bearded father told Reuters as he sat with relatives. "I have 10 more sons and I hope all of them die as martyrs." » Read more

Both Hamas and Israel claim victory following 22 days of death and destruction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Australian by John Lyons - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am ISRAELI troops began withdrawing from the Gaza Strip yesterday as both sides agreed to a ceasefire and both sides claimed victory in the 22-day conflict. No air strikes, rockets or major clashes were reported in the territory, giving Gazans their first night of complete peace since the start of Israel's massive assault on Hamas in their stronghold on December 27. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel wanted to leave "as fast as possible", while Hamas claimed it had defeated Israel in "a heavenly victory". » Read more