No easy riding for Gaza bikers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Djallal Malti - January 12, 2010 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY — When Munzer Diyya wants to get away from it all, he sits astride his motorcycle and takes to the open road -- all 45 kilometres of it. Diyya has the misfortune of being an open road enthusiast living in the Gaza Strip, a tiny territory sandwiched between Israel and Egypt and blockaded by both. So when he and his buddies gun their engines and head out on the highway, they are reduced to riding only the length of the impoverished and overcrowded Palestinian enclave -- a mere 45 kilometres (28 miles).

»

Israel Agrees to Pay U.N. $10.5 Million for Gaza War Damage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Joe Lauria, Joshua Mitnick - (Analysis) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am

UNITED NATIONS -- Israel agreed to pay the U.N. $10.5 million in compensation for damage to U.N. property and for the life of a U.N. driver during Israel's war last winter in Gaza, according to two U.N. officials. "Agreement has been reached in principle on the terms of an arrangement under which Israel would make a payment to the United Nations," said Martin Nesirky, the U.N. spokesman. "The United Nations is now waiting for a green light from the government of Israel and we anticipate receiving that green light imminently."

»

Pro-Gaza activists under siege - imposed by Egypt and Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Analysis) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am

The departure from Ramses Street in Cairo, in about 20 buses, was set for the morning of Monday, December 28. However, the organizers of the Gaza Freedom March knew the buses would not arrive. Just as on Sunday night, the buses hired by a group of French activists never made it to their starting point - Cairo's Charles de Gaulle Street, near the French Embassy and across from the zoo.

»

Following clashes, convoy enters Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Editorial) January 7, 2010 - 1:00am

Gaza – Ma’an – Medical aid and 518 activists entered Gaza Wednesday night after protests against the Egyptian government refusal to admit 400 of the group lead to clashes along the divided border town. An Egyptian soldier was shot dead during the clashes, Egyptian state television reported, and at least 12 Palestinians were injured during a a demonstration against perceived Egyptian complicity in an Israeli-led blockade called by the de facto government of the Strip as they denounced what they said were attacks on the Viva Palestina convoy.

»

Egypt says losing patience with Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - (Analysis) January 7, 2010 - 1:00am

Clashes followed by threats: Egypt warned Hamas on Wednesday night that there was a limit to its patience and that any attempt to provoke the Egyptian security forces would claim a price. The Foreign Ministry in Cairo made the announcement following Wednesday's violent clashes on the Gaza-Egypt border, which left an Egyptian border guard killed by sniper fire and nine policemen injured. Dozens of Palestinians were also hurt in the riots.

»

Dangerous situation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) January 7, 2010 - 1:00am

The situation at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is becoming dangerous. Yesterday, an Egyptian border guard was killed by what officials say was sniper fire from the Palestinian side. The shooting reportedly came after Egyptian guards opened fire at Palestinian demonstrators protesting the delay of an aid convoy, which is being held up in Egypt. The aid convoy follows another multinational popular effort to break the siege on Gaza, which was refused permission to travel to Gaza by the Egyptian authorities.

»

Egypt police clash with Gaza aid convoy activists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
(Editorial) January 6, 2010 - 1:00am

More than 50 people have been hurt in clashes between Egyptian police and pro-Palestinian activists seeking to take a convoy of supplies to Gaza. Protests reportedly broke out when Egyptian authorities at the port city of Al Arish ordered some lorries to go via an Israeli-controlled checkpoint. British MP George Galloway, leading the convoy, told Reuters that Israel was likely to prevent them entering Gaza. The activists want all the goods to be sent via Egypt's Rafah crossing.

»

Gunfire at Gaza Protest Near Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) January 6, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — An anti-Egypt rally in southern Gaza turned deadly on Wednesday when demonstrators rushed the border fence and stoned Egyptian troops on the other side, leading to an exchange of gunfire and the death of an Egyptian soldier. Nine Egyptian soldiers and a dozen Palestinians were wounded from stones and gunfire, witnesses and medics said.

»

ISRAEL, GAZA: Holocaust survivor explains why she became Palestinian rights activist
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Daniel Siegal - (Analysis) January 6, 2010 - 1:00am

Hedy Epstein is what some might see as a contradiction in terms: a survivor of the Holocaust and also a staunch advocate for the Palestinian people. Born in 1924 in Freiburg, Germany, Epstein was 14 when she escaped from Nazi persecution via the Kinderstransport to England. Since her 1948 arrival in the U.S., Epstein has been an advocate for peace and human rights.

»

Putting Lens on Lives in Suspended Animation in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - (Opinion) January 5, 2010 - 1:00am

GAZA — In the year since Israeli fighter jets and troops invaded this coastal Palestinian strip to stop rocket fire, time seems to have stood still. A blockade imposed by both Israel and Egypt to isolate the Hamas government bars the vast majority of goods and people from moving in or out. That means there is no reconstruction of destroyed buildings. Thousands remain homeless. Winter has arrived.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017