January 2nd

Israel Lets Some Foreigners Leave Gaza as Bombing Continues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Taghreed El-Khodary, Isabel Kershner - January 2, 2009 - 1:00am Israeli warplanes pounded Hamas targets in Gaza for a seventh day on Friday while Israel allowed hundreds of foreigners, many of them married to Palestinians, to leave the enclave, raising fears here that Israel was planning to escalate its week-old campaign. Tensions spread to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where Palestinian anger at reports of civilian casualties in Gaza seemed to be translating into at least a temporary increase in popular sympathy for Hamas. » Read more

Hamas Resilient Despite Israeli Onslaught ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press January 2, 2009 - 1:00am Israel is methodically targeting the Hamas domain, bombing government offices, security compounds, commanders, and even Hamas-linked clinics, mosques and money changers. Yet Gaza's Islamic rulers show no sign of buckling under the aerial onslaught. Israel says Hamas still has thousands of rockets. Hamas TV and radio remain on the air, broadcasting morale-boosting battle reports. Hamas' political and military leaders communicate from hiding places by walkie-talkie. Police patrol streets to prevent price gouging and looting. » Read more

IAF strikes more than 30 Hamas targets in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Yoav Stern - January 2, 2009 - 1:00am The Israel Air Force pressed on with its assault on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip Friday evening, bombing the home of Hamas member Mohammed Madhoun, who was responsible for rocket attacks against Israel. Madhoun's house was also used as a laboratory for the manufacturing of rockets and explosive devices and as a storage facility for rockets, mortar shells, and various weapons. At least eight people, among them five children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Friday. In all, the IAF reportedly hit 35 Hamas targets throughout the day Friday. » Read more

January 1st

US Jews, Muslims Need New Playbook ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Newsweek by Eboo Patel - January 1, 2009 - 1:00am The Council of Islamic Relations calls the Israeli attack on Gaza a "disproportionate and counterproductive ... massacre". Its homepage features a photo of a bombed out building in Gaza with a panicked official ushering civilians to safety. The American Jewish Committee's homepage has a picture of Palestinian militants in ski masks holding guns next to a video of AJC Executive Director David Harris speaking of the "intolerable situation" Israel faces and how it had "no choice" but to bomb Gaza. » Read more

Escaping the Gaza ghetto ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Chicago Tribune by Kevin Clarke - January 1, 2009 - 1:00am It's hard to watch the mayhem in Gaza, watch the bloodied faces of children and anguished parents, hard even to watch the death mask of even the most ardent, Israel-hating member of Hamas as he is carted off to his grave, easier to turn it off, and not think about this complex, seemingly intractable mess that is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

‘Israeli assault of Gaza empowers Hamas objective’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Barbara Ferguson - January 1, 2009 - 1:00am As the siege of Gaza by Israel enters its fifth day, Ziad Asali, president and founder of the DC-based American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), said the US should be working toward a cease-fire as its No. 1 priority of the moment. “All other political considerations have to be negotiated in the absence of fighting on both sides,” he said. » Read more

Gaza hides a war over the Arabs' future ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Michael Young - (Opinion) January 1, 2009 - 1:00am Amid the carnage in Gaza, it's not immediately obvious that what is taking place has less to do with Israelis versus Palestinians than with Arabs versus Arabs, principally to define the future of the Middle East. The Gaza conflict has become part of an ongoing confrontation between regimes emerging from the Arab state system established over six decades ago, and, with one exception, new regional players vying to take their place. » Read more

Palestine's Guernica and the Myths of Israeli Victimhood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Mustafa Barghouthi - December 29, 2008 - 1:00am Palestine's Guernica and the Myths of Israeli Victimhood The Israeli campaign of 'death from above' began around 11 am, on Saturday morning, the 27th of December, and stretched straight through the night into this morning. The massacre continues Sunday as I write these words. » Read more

Gaza attack strengthens Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Joseph Mayton - January 1, 2009 - 1:00am Rarely do Egyptian demonstrations see thousands of people take to the streets. But, put together anti-Israeli and anti-government sentiments spearheaded by the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, and the result is the country's largest street action since the first anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq in 2004. With Israel vowing a "long" siege against the Gaza Strip, there are concerns that the already strong opposition Brotherhood could become even stronger in the face of Israel's military action against Palestinians. » Read more

Hamas accuses senior Palestinian aides of spying for Israelis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Ben Lynfield - January 1, 2009 - 1:00am Hamas has accused senior aides of the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, of spying for Israel, underscoring an intensification of Palestinian infighting even in the face of Israel's bombardments in the Gaza Strip. » Read more