Israel's Gamble in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Affairs by Daniel Byman - (Opinion) November 15, 2012 - 1:00am Israel's latest campaign in Gaza, which began on Wednesday with the killing of Hamas' military commander, Ahmed Jabari, and air strikes on the group's long-range rocket launchers, is a gamble -- and one that Israel might lose. Its goal is to compel Hamas to stop shooting rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip and to crack down on other groups who are also doing so. Hamas, however, will find it hard to bend to Israeli pressure. In turn, it will be up to outside states, particularly Egypt, to foster a deal to end the fighting. » Read more

The Peace Process Isn't Dead ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Daniel Kurtzer - (Opinion) November 16, 2012 - 1:00am In Jerusalem last week with my Princeton University students, I hailed a taxi one day from my hotel to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The driver asked whether I would need him for the rest of the day. "If you can take me to Ramallah," I replied, "that would be great. Otherwise, no thanks." » Read more

Israel Must Disengage from Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Chelo Rosenberg - (Opinion) November 14, 2012 - 1:00am So long as our leaders continue to blabber and adopt threatening tones, reality will not change. They must come to the masses and say publicly: We must sever our ties to Gaza completely. » Read more

Israeli strikes hit a Gaza that grows darker by the day ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Rania Elhilou - (Opinion) November 16, 2012 - 1:00am Two-year-old Ashraf Shadi Kali died early this week, and his parents and one-year-old brother were injured, in a fire sparked by candles the family was forced to use because of Gaza's continuing electricity shortages. Their home was destroyed. The family is just one of many forced to rely on kerosene, candles or, if they can afford it, a generator to provide a bit of light and warmth as the dark, cold days of winter approach. » Read more

Violence in Gaza kills Palestinians' chance at unity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) November 16, 2012 - 1:00am When will Hamas ever learn? A flurry of rockets fired into Israel from Gaza this week quickly started another cycle of reflexive escalations, one that could lead to another full-scale Israeli incursion. That, at least, is what Israel is threatening, and what Hamas seems to be agitating for. » Read more

The battle between Israel and Gaza solves nothing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Jonathan Freedland - (Opinion) November 15, 2012 - 1:00am This is a horror movie we've seen before. In the days following a US presidential contest, an Israeli government, about to face an election of its own, decides it can tolerate Hamas rocket-fire no longer. It hits back hard, determined to show the Israeli public that it is not sitting idle as a million of its citizens huddle in bomb shelters, their children unable to go to school, but that it is tough, ready to do whatever it takes to "restore deterrence". It will bring quiet to its southern towns by forcing Hamas to fear its wrath once more. » Read more

Has Israel learned the lessons of Operation Cast Lead? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf Times by Amira Hass - (Opinion) November 16, 2012 - 1:00am Unlike Operation Cast Lead, in which the Israel Defense Forces shelled crowded places like police stations near schools from day one, this time it’s clear the IDF is trying to avoid heavy Palestinian fatalities. This conclusion cannot console the family members of those killed and wounded so far. Nor does it allay the fear of what could still happen. By Thursday afternoon at least four Palestinian civilians had been killed in air strikes − an 11-month-old, a 3-year-old girl, a young pregnant woman and a 60-year-old man. Dozens of civilians were wounded. » Read more

Middle East peace takes a beating ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times (Editorial) November 16, 2012 - 1:00am After months of relative quiet — broken, in this country, only by the pandering of the presidential candidates — the century-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict has burst back into the news. It began last week when the Palestinian Authority revived its plan to seek an upgrade in the United Nations to "non-member observer status." On the face of it, that's hardly a game-changing power grab, and it seems unlikely to dramatically alter the regional balance of power. » Read more

Israeli Gaza offensive similar to 2008-2009 campaign, but aims to be more focused ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press (Analysis) November 15, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — The major operation Israel launched to stop Gaza rocket fire bears some striking similarities to a punishing three-week campaign it unleashed against Hamas militants four years ago. Both began with a sudden series of airstrikes that caught Hamas off guard, included a threat to invade the coastal strip and came shortly after an American election and before an Israeli one. But the rules of the game have changed. That means Israel is now likely to carry out a briefer, more focused operation. » Read more

Israel not rushing to invade Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - (Analysis) November 15, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Israel's threat to reprise its Gaza invasion of four years ago if its air strikes against Hamas do not end rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave masks important differences between then and now. Two days into the assault, the absence of the saturated aerial bombing seen at the start of the last Gaza war in 2008 suggested the Israelis were not yet carving safer access points for ground troops. » Read more