Israel's hold on Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
(Editorial) November 20, 2008 - 8:00pm

In the 2 1/2 weeks since its cease-fire with Hamas broke down, Israel has all but sealed crossings along its border with the Gaza Strip and rejected U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's appeal to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclosed territory that houses more than 1.5 million Palestinians. This response to violence directed against it amounts to collective punishment of civilians, which is illegal under international law, unfair and counterproductive. Hunger and scarcity nurture extremism.

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What Obama Needs to Do First
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) November 20, 2008 - 8:00pm

The Palestinian Authority, in a brilliant display of public relations, ran Hebrew-language ads this week, in Israel’s four major newspapers, endorsing the Arab Peace Initiative (formerly known as the Saudi plan) and calling on Israelis to support it, too. The Palestinian Authority is also urging President-elect Barack Obama to put his prestige behind the initiative as a critical first step to help end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Gazans despair over blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Aleem Maqbool - November 19, 2008 - 8:00pm

"People in Gaza are waiting in lines for almost everything, and that's if they're lucky enough to find something to wait for," says Bassam Nasser, 39. An aid worker in Gaza City, he, like so many others there, including the UN relief agency, says living conditions are the worst he has ever seen in the strip. "People queue for two or three hours for bread, but sometimes there's no cooking gas or flour, so no bread. "People wait in line for UN food handouts, but sometimes there aren't any. The suffering is reaching every aspect of life."

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Hamas, Israel trying to rewrite truce
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Karin Laub - November 19, 2008 - 8:00pm

A June truce between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers comes up for renewal next month, and it looks as if both sides are trying to dictate more favorable terms. That would explain why Israel and Hamas have been trading rocket fire and air strikes for two weeks, even as they keep saying they're interested in a continued cease-fire. The attempt to establish new ground rules could easily spin out of control, especially if there are civilian casualties. Domestic concerns further complicate the situation.

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Abdullah, Abbas condemn Gaza blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - November 19, 2008 - 8:00pm

Following a clandestine meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, King Abdullah of Jordan invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a chat in Aqaba, Thursday. The two warned against any unilateral Israeli actions in Gaza or the West Bank and emphasized that an increased blockade of Gaza would only lead to increased Palestinian suffering and escalating tensions.

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Foreign Reporters’ Group Fights Israeli Prohibition on Entering Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - November 18, 2008 - 8:00pm

An association representing international news organizations is campaigning for an end to an unusual Israeli policy barring foreign reporters from entering Gaza that has lasted for almost two weeks.

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Israel renews blockade of Gaza crossings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - November 18, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israel resealed border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, blaming continued rocket fire at its towns, despite warnings from world aid groups of looming shortages of food and fuel in the coastal territory. Israel had allowed 33 truckloads of supplies into Gaza for the first time in two weeks on Monday, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas he would not permit a humanitarian crisis to develop there.

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UN resumes food distribution in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Mai Yaghi - November 18, 2008 - 8:00pm

Food distribution to half the Gaza Strip's 1.5 million population resumed on Tuesday, although the United Nations warned aid supplies would soon run out unless Israel eases its crippling blockade. "Distribution will go on of the very small amount we brought in on Monday," said UN Relief and Works Agency spokesman Chris Gunness. "The supplies will last days, not weeks," he told AFP. Crowds rushed to the UNRWA distribution centres to try to get hold of the limited supplies of flour, sugar, rice, powdered milk and luncheon meat.

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Hamas: We're prepared to end cease-fire and confront Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - November 18, 2008 - 8:00pm

Hamas' military wing announced Tuesday it was "prepared for a confrontation with Israel" and for the end of the cease-fire with Israel. But political sources said the cease-fire was expected to go on. Hamas' Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades threatened to "turn the cease-fire tables on the heads of the Zionists," they said in a statement. Abu Obeida, the alias of a spokesman for the military wing, threatened that Hamas would "retaliate fiercely" should Israel resume its targeted-killings policy, as some defense officials have said were advisable after the cease-fire.

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Israel Renews Blockade Of Gaza Crossings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
November 17, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israel resealed border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, blaming continued rocket fire at its towns, despite warnings from world aid groups of looming shortages of food and fuel in the coastal territory. Israel had allowed 33 truckloads of supplies into Gaza for the first time in two weeks on Monday, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas he would not permit a humanitarian crisis to develop there.

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