November 16th

Israel and Hamas battle on social media as well ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Lauren E. Bohn - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM —The hostilities between Israel and Hamas have found a new battleground: social media.The Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas militants have exchanged fiery tweets throughout the fighting in a separate war to influence public opinion. Shortly after it launched its campaign Wednesday by killing Hamas' top military commander Ahmed Jabari, the Israeli military's media office announced a "widespread campaign on terror sites & operatives in the (hash)Gaza Strip" on its Twitter account. » Read more

Signs mount of possible Israeli invasion of Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM —Israeli aircraft pummeled rocket launching operations of Gaza militants on Friday, and as troops, tanks and armored personnel carriers massed near the Palestinian territory, signaling a ground invasion might be growing near. Fighting between the two sides escalated sharply Thursday with a first-ever militant attack on the Tel Aviv area, menacing Israel's heartland. No casualties were reported, but three people died in the country's rocket-scarred south when a projectile slammed into an apartment building. » Read more

Egypt asks US to end Israel’s operation in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times of Israel November 15, 2012 - 1:00am CAIRO (AP) — Egypt asked the United States to push Israel to stop its offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, warning that the violence could “escalate out of control,” the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. » Read more

Obama presses Egypt to help rein in Hamas as Gaza conflict escalates ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Chris McGreal, Harriet Sherwood - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am Barack Obama is pressing the Egyptian leadership to help de-escalate the bloody conflict in Gaza amid concern that a further ratcheting up of violence, such as a major Israeli ground assault, could damage the peace accords between Cairo and Jerusalem. » Read more

With Gaza Attacks, Egypt’s President Balances Hamas Against Israeli Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mayy El Sheikh, David Kirkpatrick - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am CAIRO — The escalating conflict in Gaza has confronted President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt with a wrenching test of his commitments — to his fellow Islamists of the militant group Hamas and to Egypt’s landmark peace agreement with Israel. » Read more

Bolder Hamas Tests Alliances in a Shifting Arab World ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA CITY — Instead of the wedding drums that typically provide the evening soundtrack in this forlorn coastal strip, the black, still air was pierced by gunshots on Thursday, as citizens fired celebratory rounds after the ruling Hamas faction announced that one of its rockets had hit an Israeli aircraft. » Read more

Fire continues during Egypt PM visit to Gaza, despite ceasefire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters November 16, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A ceasefire that Israel declared for a visit by Egypt's prime minister to the Gaza Strip on Friday collapsed after Palestinians continued cross-border rocket attacks and Israel launched air strikes in the enclave. Rockets fired from Gaza hit several sites in southern Israel shortly after Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil arrived. The Israeli air force responded with an attack on the house of Hamas's commander for southern Gaza, and a Palestinian was killed in a separate air strike near Gaza City, the Islamist group said. » Read more

Israel Girds for Ground Assault in Gaza; Egypt’s Premier Visits ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Alan Cowell, Isabel Kershner, Jodi Rudoren - November 16, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — After a morning of heavy rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, the Israeli military seemed to be edging closer to a ground invasion of Gaza on Friday, saying forces were “on standby” and “ready to enter should it be decided that a ground operation is necessary.” » Read more

November 15th

Gaza rockets kill 3 Israelis, hit near Tel Aviv ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM —Palestinian militants barraged Israel with nearly 150 rockets on Thursday, killing three people and striking the southern outskirts of Tel Aviv as Israel pressed a punishing campaign of airstrikes on militant targets across the Gaza Strip. As nightfall approached, the fighting showed no signs of slowing, and the rocket attack on the city of Rishon Lezion, by far the deepest target reached by Gaza militants so far, raised the likelihood of an even tougher Israeli response. » Read more

Strategic Dimensions Of Attacking Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) November 14, 2012 - 1:00am There can be no doubt that the Hamas leaders in Gaza brought this on themselves. Recent rocket attacks from the Strip no longer made any pretence of being perpetrated by more extreme Salafists and assorted jihadists. Rather than distance itself from the attacks, Hamas has been taking the credit for sending up to one million Israelis in the Gaza periphery into safe rooms and shelters. » Read more