Food and Medical Supplies Grow Scarce in the Gaza Strip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Islam Abdel Kareem, Sudarsan Raghavan - December 29, 2008 - 1:00am

NIR AM, Israel -- The family of Um Shadi al-Bardaweel did not sleep. The Israeli airstrikes and the explosions, the sirens and the screams of strangers outside their house near the Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip kept them awake into the predawn hours Sunday. At the first light of dawn, the mother of five sent her son to the bakery to buy bread. Hundreds of Palestinians had the same idea, joining a never-ending line. "There's no food in the market," Bardaweel explained in an interview with a reporter. Her son did not return until nightfall.

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The dire cost of domestic rivalries
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Neve Gordon - December 29, 2008 - 1:00am

The first bombardment took three minutes and 40 seconds. Sixty Israeli F-16 fighter jets bombed 50 sites in Gaza, killing more than 200 Palestinians, and wounding close to 1,000 more. A few hours after the deadly strike, Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert convened a press conference in Tel-Aviv. With foreign minister Tzipi Livni sitting on his right and defence minister Ehud Barak on his left, he declared: "It may take time, and each and every one of us must be patient so we can complete the mission." But what exactly, one might ask, is Israel's mission?

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Israeli troops kill 2 West bank Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
December 28, 2008 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank: Israeli troops in the West Bank shot dead a Palestinian man and gravely wounded another on Sunday during a violent protest against Israel's deadly air campaign against Gaza militants, the army and a Palestinian medic said.

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Israel calls up 6,000 military reservists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
December 28, 2008 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The Israeli government Sunday approved a draft of more than 6,000 military reservists it says may be necessary for a ground offensive in Gaza, observers said.

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Israel mounts PR campaign to blame Hamas for Gaza destruction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Toni O'Loughlin - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am

Israel has mounted a public relations campaign to convince international hearts and minds that Hamas is to blame for the death and destruction they are seeing on their television screens. Stung by the wave of international criticism earlier this year when Israel invaded Gaza to stop militants firing rockets, in an operation dwarfed by its current attack, Israel decided to go on the offensive.

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Israel plays for high stakes in Gaza attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck, Andrew England - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am

Less than 28 months after the end of Israel’s botched war in Lebanon, the country has launched another massive assault against a militant Islamist group in the region. This time, the enemy is Hamas not Hizbollah. And this time, Israelis are hoping fervently that their political and military leaders know what they are doing.

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With Gaza raid, Barak is back in the political ring
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Verter - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am

Two months after Ehud Olmert was elected as Israel's prime minister, the Second Lebanon War broke out. Two months before Olmert departs, the military campaign in the south breaks out.

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The Blood of Gaza…A Business Venture!
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq Alhomayed - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am

A grim and bloody theatrical play named the "Palestinian cause" has been recurring for decades, with the same scenes, and lies; there is nothing new except for its victims. [A play with] opportunistic factions and Israeli crimes, and Arab denunciation and condemnation. What is the difference between what is happening in Gaza and what took place in the Israeli-Hezbollah War [2006 Lebanon War]?

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Delusions of victory in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am

As of yesterday, politicians and the public at large have been enthralled by a new prospect: that of a wide-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip. Such a prospect answers all their heart's secret wishes: Avenging the rocket fire by Gazan militants, reclaiming Israel's prestige, delivering a fatal blow to Hamas, providing payback for Israel's 2005 pullout from Gaza, sending a strong message to Iran, an implicit one to Hezbollah, and also showing the government's concern for its citizens and scoring some points with the electorate ahead of the elections.

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Israeli Attacks in Gaza Strip Continue for Second Day
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Taghreed El-Khodary - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am

GAZA — Israeli airstrikes against Hamas facilities in Gaza continued for a second day on Sunday and the death toll rose to more than 280 as Israel retaliated for rocket fire from the area with its most severe campaign against Palestinian militants in decades. The Palestinian groups again launched barrages of rockets and mortars into Israel on Sunday, extending their reach further than ever before, and the Israeli government approved the emergency call up of thousands of army reservists in preparation for a possible ground operation.

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