January 12th

Security First ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by J.D. Crouch II, Montgomery Meigs, Walter B. Slocombe - (Opinion) January 12, 2009 - 1:00am When the dust settles in Gaza, the Obama administration will take up the mantle of moving the two sides toward an Israeli-Palestinian peace. American efforts must focus on strengthening the capabilities of the Palestinian party upon whom hope for peace can rest, the Palestinian Authority, and ensuring the stability of the West Bank. » Read more

Israel's victories in Gaza make up for its failures in Lebanon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ari Shavit - (Analysis) January 12, 2009 - 1:00am The war on Hamas is a war for the sovereignty of Israel. It was launched due to repeated rocket attacks from Gaza following Israel's disengagement from the coastal strip. No country in the world would put up with a situation in which its sovereignty is being undermined and its citizens are being threatened. Given its small geographical territory and many enemies, Israel can not put up with this situation. Therefore, it is up to every decent person who wants Israel to strive for peace and end its occupation and return to its original borders to support its fight for sovereignty. » Read more

Egypt defends its Gaza policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Nadia Abou el-Magd - January 12, 2009 - 1:00am Egyptian officials yesterday launched a public relations offensive aimed at defending the government’s policies towards the Gaza Strip and tempering growing criticism of its handling of the two-week-long conflict. » Read more

Crisis Imperils 2-State Plan, Shifting a Balance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Michael Slackman - (Analysis) January 11, 2009 - 1:00am With every image of the dead in Gaza inflaming people across the Arab world, Egyptian and Jordanian officials are worried that they see a fundamental tenet of the Middle East peace process slipping away: the so-called two-state solution, an independent Palestinian state coexisting with Israel. » Read more

Blair Says Mideast Cease-Fire Elements in Place ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Griff Witte - January 12, 2009 - 1:00am Israeli war planes and gunboats destroyed targets in the Gaza Strip Monday, including homes of Hamas leaders, as special Mideast envoy Tony Blair said after a meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that "the elements of an agreement" for a cease-fire are in place. Blair, the former British prime minister, spoke amid intense negotiations aimed at bringing the 17-day war to a halt. Both Israel and Hamas are participating. » Read more

Hamas: A Crisis of Leadership ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) January 12, 2009 - 1:00am What is Hamas lacking? » Read more

Hamas reportedly rejects Egypt bid for long-term Gaza truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz January 12, 2009 - 1:00am Hamas has rejected an Egyptian proposal for a long-term truce between the Gaza Strip and Israel, the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayyat reported on Monday. The newspaper quoted a senior Hamas source as saying: "There are still many details that need to be discussed before we can say that we have reached an agreement of principles. Egypt's state-owned news agency reported on Sunday that talks were progressing between Egyptian officials and a Hamas delegation dispatched to Cairo on finding an end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Israel sees cracks in Hamas's will to fight ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune January 12, 2009 - 1:00am On the 17th day of the war against Hamas, Israel said it launched around 15 airstrikes overnight, fewer than in some recent nights, as Israeli troops pushed into a heavily populated area of Gaza City from the south on Sunday in fierce fighting that reportedly continued on Monday. Senior Israeli officials said for the first time in the war that they believed that the Hamas military wing was beginning to crack and that Hamas leaders inside Gaza were looking for a cease-fire. News reports said Hamas fired at least one missile out of Gaza into southern Israel without causing casualties. » Read more

Battered by Israel, Hamas faces tough choice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Rushdi Abu Alouf, Jeffrey Fleishman - January 12, 2009 - 1:00am Hamas fighters are scattered in cells across the Gaza Strip, launching rockets, ambushing Israeli soldiers, and vanishing into tunnels and bunkers to escape airstrikes on a pummeled terrain of shattered buildings and bodies curled and crumpled in the streets. » Read more

Sources: Hamas leaders hiding in basement of Israel-built hospital in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - January 12, 2009 - 1:00am Senior Hamas officials in Gaza are hiding out in a "bunker" built by Israel, intelligence officials suspect: Many are believed to be in the basements of the Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza City, which was refurbished during Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip. Shifa, the coastal strip's largest hospital, was built while Gaza was under Egyptian rule, before 1967. During the mid-1980s the building underwent massive refurbishment as part of a showcase project to improve the living conditions of residents. » Read more