Turkey calls for punishment of Israel for killings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jeffrey Heller, Ibon Villelabeitia - June 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Turkey called on Tuesday for Israel to be punished for storming a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza in an attack that left nine dead and Israel increasingly isolated in the face of international outrage. Israel detained or deported hundreds of activists who were aboard a flotilla of ships seized en route to the Palestinian enclave which has been under Israeli blockade since 2006.

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Gaza flotilla: Why the blockade makes sense for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by David Makovsky - (Opinion) June 1, 2010 - 12:00am

The activists aboard the Gaza flotilla that was raided by Israeli security forces Monday may have believed that breaking the Gaza blockade was at its core forcing Israel to address an issue the activists see as moral blindness. Yet the situation is far more complex than they would like people to believe. The story of the flotilla crisis begins from the time Israel withdrew from Gaza in August 2005. Israelis were told that if they stopped occupying foreign land, they would be more secure.

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Israel's Gaza blockade baffles residents
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Diaa Hadid - May 28, 2010 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Military bureaucrats enforcing Israel's blockade of Gaza allow frozen salmon filet, facial scrub and low-fat yogurt into the Hamas-ruled territory. Cilantro and instant coffee are another matter — they are banned as luxury items. Over the past three years, Israel has determined down to the tiniest detail what gets into the Gaza Strip and to its population of 1.5 million, using secret guidelines to differentiate between humanitarian necessities and nonessential luxuries in its blockade meant to squeeze the Islamic militant group Hamas.

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Rattling the Cage: Living it up in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - May 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Don’t you just wish you lived in Gaza? Don’t you just envy those people who get to raise their kids amid such abundance? Look at all the stuff they’ve got: “Truckloads of meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, milk powder, baby food, wheat and other staples arrive in Gaza on a daily basis,” said the Foreign Ministry in advance of the “Freedom Flotilla,” due to either reach Gaza or get intercepted by the navy today.

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Construction materials continue to enter Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli crossings officials allowed the entry of limited construction materials into Gaza for the fourth day on Thursday, a Palestinian liaison officer said, noting the goods were for UNRWA re-building projects. The official, Raed Fattouh, said between 100 to 110 truckloads of aid would enter Gaza through the southernmost Kerem Shalom crossing, noting three of the trucks were loaded with 120 tons of cement, and one truck with iron rebar.

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Activists say bound for Gaza despite Israel warning
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Michele Kambas - May 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Pro-Palestinian activists vowed to press ahead and break an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip on Thursday by sending in a convoy of relief aid ships despite Israeli warnings it will be stopped. Eight ships, including four cargo vessels, were heading towards Gaza in defiance of a three-year Israeli closure on the sliver of desert territory, home to 1.5 million Palestinians. "We are planning on going. This is not going to stop us. The boats are already on their way," said Greta Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Free Gaza Movement.

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Defying Blockade, Cargo and Passenger Vessels Head for Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - May 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel braced Friday for a showdown with a flotilla of nine vessels carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists and thousands of tons of supplies headed for Gaza. It was the most ambitious attempt so far to break Israel’s maritime blockade of the Hamas-run coastal enclave. The flotilla of cargo ships and passenger boats, led by the Free Gaza Movement and a Turkish organization, Insani Yardim Vakfi, converged at sea from a number of countries over the last 10 days.

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Israel halts care for dead militant's relative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Karoun Demirjian - May 11, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel has barred a cousin of an assassinated Hamas operative from entering from Gaza for medical care, security officials said Tuesday, though the man's doctors warn his life is in danger. Mohammed al-Mabhouh, 56, is the cousin of senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who was assassinated in Dubai in January in a hit local authorities blamed on Israel's Mossad spy agency. Israel has not commented on the charge.

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Easing of Gaza blockade shows more can be done-UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Patrick Worsnip - April 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's recent easing of its blockade of Gaza is inadequate but shows restrictions could be lifted further without compromising the Jewish state's security, the top U.N. official in Gaza said on Thursday. Israel tightened controls on the Palestinian territory three years ago after Hamas Islamists seized control there, but in recent weeks has allowed in some goods it used to ban, such as clothes and shoes, wood and aluminum.

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Remarks by Amb. Alejandro D. Wolff, U.S. Dep. Representative, on the Middle East, in the Security Council
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Under Secretary-General Pascoe, for your briefing. Before turning to the subject at hand, let me join my other colleagues in extending our own condolences the government and people of China for the loss of life and injuries suffered by so many as a result of the devastating earthquake.

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