Government mulls allowing flotillas to reach Gaza Strip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The government is considering allowing flotillas bound for Gaza to dock in the Strip so long as they undergo a thorough search by an international authority, Channel 2 news reported Tuesday evening. According to the TV report, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was examining the idea of letting ships dock in the Strip as long as Israel and a third, international party, such as Greece, were to check any incoming vessel for illegal weapons or illicit materials.

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Gaza food situation tight as Karni crossing closed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

The complete closure of the Israel-Gaza border crossing at Karni, announced on March 2, will make the delivery of food aid to Gaza more difficult, in an area where over half the population is estimated to be food insecure. The closure of Karni will also add 20 percent to the cost of aid delivery, said Chris Gunness, spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency in Jerusalem, at a time when UNRWA is facing a budget deficit of over $50 million. Some 750,000 Palestinians receive UNRWA food assistance in Gaza, out of about one million refugees living in the territory.

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Israel allows $13.5 million into Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Tani Goldstein - February 25, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli authorities – the Bank of Israel and security forces – approved and facilitated the transfer of $13.5 million in cash to the Gaza Strip through the Erez crossing on Wednesday, just several hours before a Grad rocket attack on the southern city of Beersheba, Ynet has learned. The money was transferred from a bank account of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the Bank of Palestine in Ramallah to the organization's account in the same bank in Gaza in order to pay the salaries of UNRWA employees in the Strip.

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Israeli Panel Rules Flotilla Raid Legal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am

An Israeli commission that examined the deadly raid on a flotilla bound for Gaza last May concluded Sunday that Israel had acted in accordance with international law when its military enforced its naval blockade by intercepting the ships in international waters.

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PM: Israel will work to disconnect Gaza from power grid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
January 20, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority’s insistence on confronting Israel in international forums at every opportunity cannot go on forever, and will lead to a breakdown in ties between Israel and the PA, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in a meeting Thursday with new French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot- Marie. He told his French counterpart that there was a “dangerous gap” in relations between Israel and the PA.

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WikiLeaks: Israel vowed to limit Gaza economy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
January 5, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel told US officials in 2008 it would keep Gaza's economy "on the brink of collapse" while avoiding a humanitarian crisis, according to US diplomatic cables published by a Norwegian daily on Wednesday. Three cables cited by the Aftenposten newspaper, which has said it has all 250,000 US cables leaked to WikiLeaks, showed that Israel kept the US embassy in Tel Aviv briefed on its internationally criticized blockade of the Gaza Strip.

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Gaza blockade: Asia 1 aid convoy reaches Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
January 3, 2011 - 1:00am

Some 100 pro-Palestinian activists, part of an Asian aid convoy, have crossed into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. The convoy's $1m (760,000 euros) worth of cargo was due to arrive separately by boat later, organisers said. Egypt refused visas to some Iranians and Jordanians travelling with the convoy, which left India on 2 December. Activists had planned to reach the Hamas-run Gaza Strip by 27 December, the second anniversary of Israel's 22-day Cast Lead offensive on Gaza. More than 1,400 Gazans and 13 Israelis died during the 2008-2009 Gaza war.

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Israel must grant Gaza justice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Raja Abdulrahim - (Opinion) December 21, 2010 - 1:00am

The reality of life in the Gaza Strip is hard to convey. Systematic violations of international human rights law have created abject poverty and reduced approximately 1.7 million people to "beneficiaries" of international aid, forced into dependency as the result of a human-made, and completely preventable, humanitarian crisis.

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UN concerned after Gaza charity closed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Almost one week after Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip closed the doors to a charity assisting children and teenagers, UN officials and international NGO Human Rights Watch released statements calling for the re-opening of the institution, and condemning the closure.

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Hamas reaches out, tries to shore up popularity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Ibrahim Barzak - December 13, 2010 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP — Gaza's ruling Hamas movement has politicians sweeping streets to show community spirit, activists distributing chocolates and cards signed "from Hamas with love" and police officers visiting homes and schools to soften the often harsh image of the security forces.

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