January 7th

UN rejects IDF claim Gaza militants operated from bombed-out school ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar, Amos Harel, Amira Hass, Avi Issacharoff, Anshel Pfeffer - January 7, 2009 - 1:00am The United Nations on Wednesday denied Israel Defense Forces claims that there were Palestinian militants in the Gaza school bombed by Israel on Tuesday. Christopher Gunness of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said the organization is 99.9 percent certain there were no militants or military activity in its school. That does not necessarily contradict Israel's claim that the militants were operating close by, Gunness said. » Read more

Sarkozy says Israel accepts Gaza truce plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters January 7, 2009 - 1:00am French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday Israel and the Palestinian Authority had accepted a truce plan for Gaza announced by Egypt on Tuesday. "The president is delighted by the acceptance by Israel and the Palestinian Authority of the Franco-Egyptian plan presented last night in Sharm el-Sheikh by (Egyptian) President (Hosni) Mubarak," said a statement from Sarkozy's office. "The head of state calls for this plan to be implemented as quickly as possible for the suffering of the population to stop."

January 6th

U.S. must act now in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Charlotte Observer by David Price - (Opinion) January 6, 2009 - 1:00am For observers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict committed to a peaceful and lasting two-state resolution, the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza brings the temptation to throw one's hands in the air in despair. Mistaken assumptions and lessons left unlearned seem to guide each of the protagonists down a course antithetical to the long-term interests of both Israelis and Palestinians. » Read more

Incursion Into Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times (Editorial) January 6, 2009 - 1:00am With its ground incursion into Gaza, Israel has gambled that it can finally silence the Hamas rockets that have terrorized its people for years. We sympathize with that goal. But we are concerned that short-term success on the battlefield might encourage the Israelis to keep pressing further and longer in an attempt to decimate Hamas and wrest Gaza from its grip. That is also a goal we can sympathize with — there is no justification for Hamas’s attacks or its virulent rejectionism. But it is highly unlikely, and there is a point of diminishing returns that could be easy to miscalculate. » Read more

As the Troops Enter, We Fear the Worst ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Eyad El-Sarraj - January 4, 2009 - 1:00am GAZA CITY How much worse can it get? After a horrifying week, the Israelis have arrived once again at our doorstep. What now? Already we have experienced so much terror and want. When the Israeli strikes first began, my wife and I were worrying about lentils. She said we could not have lentil soup for lunch because there were no lentils in the shops. Nor any rice or flour. Suddenly there was a deafening noise, followed by a succession of blasts the likes of which I had never experienced. Our house was rocking, the windows rattling in their panes. » Read more

French President Sarkozy: Deal on Gaza truce 'not far away' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press January 6, 2009 - 1:00am French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday a deal for a cease-fire between Israel and the Gaza Strip was "not far" away. "I'm convinced that there are solutions. We are not far from that. What is needed is simply for one of the players to start for things to go in the right direction," he told reporters during a visit to French United Nations peacekeepers in south Lebanon. Sarkozy said he was returning to Sharm el-Sheikh to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to work out the details of a peace plan. » Read more

Blair: Closing smuggling routes key to ceasefire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Andrew Woodcock - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is attainable within days if the smuggling routes which supply arms and money to Hamas can be shut down, international envoy Tony Blair said today. Mr Blair said that the Hamas movement, which holds power in the Palestinian enclave, is in contact with Egypt over the issue and that Cairo is prepared in principle to take action. All "responsible" players in the region should be working towards an immediate cessation of the hostilities which have now entered their 11th day, he said. » Read more

Gaza civilian death toll rises steeply ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rory McCarthy, Chris McGreal - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am The civilian death toll in Gaza increased dramatically today, with at least 12 members of an extended family, including seven young children, killed in an air strike on their house in Gaza City while the bombing of two United Nations schools being used as shelters took 13 lives. The bodies of the Daya family were pulled from the rubble of a house in Gaza City's Zeitoun area after it was hit by two Israeli missiles. The dead included seven children aged from one to 12 years, three women and two men. Nine other people were believed to be trapped in the rubble. » Read more

Israel hits UN school, nears major Gaza towns ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak, Steve Weizman - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am Israeli forces edged closer to Gaza's major population centers on Tuesday and attacked new sites, including a U.N. school, taking more civilian lives after ignoring mounting international calls for an immediate cease-fire. A Palestinian rocket attack wounded an Israeli infant. The United Nations said three civilians were killed in the airstrike on its school, where hundreds of people from a Gaza City refugee camp had gone to seek shelter from Israel's blistering 11-day offensive against the Hamas militant group. » Read more

Broker a Gaza cease-fire now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times (Editorial) January 6, 2009 - 1:00am In the densely populated Gaza Strip, Hamas is ensconced in houses, schools and mosques, fighting under cover of civilians. Israel, meanwhile, has bombed extensively, sent in ground forces to cut off Gaza City and taken up positions atop apartment buildings, with residents inside. More than 550 Palestinians have been killed and 2,000 wounded since the Israeli offensive began Dec. 27. At least a quarter of the victims are civilians, many of them children. » Read more