Israel Aircraft Open Fire West of Gaza City
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 16, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (MA’an) -- Israeli helicopters opened fire toward farmland in the Sheikh Ajlen area west of Gaza City late Thursday, witnesses said. No injuries were reported. An Israeli military spokeswoman said aircraft fired warning shots in response to rocket fire. Earlier, several rockets were fired toward the western Negev, Israeli media reported. A Grad rocket was intercepted by a nearby "Iron Dome" battery, and another rocket landed in an open area in the Eshkol regional council outside Hof Ashkelon, Israel's Ynet news service reported.

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Match, Spark...
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast (Opinion) - March 15, 2012 - 12:00am

The recent flareup of violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza has all the disturbing qualities of a foretaste of more bitter things to come. Most troublingly, this latest round of attacks and counterattacks, which achieved nothing for either side, brings us ever closer to a possible third Palestinian intifada.

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From crisis to crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) March 15, 2012 - 12:00am

A few weeks ago, when the "attack Iran chatter" in Israel took an upgrading shift in quality (of the people doing the chatter) and in quantity (the amount of times the chatter focused on operational options), I was convinced that a decision had been taken to hit Iran. In thinking about the consequences of that attack, I immediately pondered the unintended consequences as well.

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Israeli aircraft hit Gaza in response to rockets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - March 15, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says its aircraft have struck militant sites in the Gaza Strip in response to continued rocket fire on southern Israel. The two sides agreed earlier this week to halt a four-day flare-up of violence but sporadic rocket fire and retaliatory airstrikes have persisted. Thursday's airstrike came after three rockets were fired at Israel a day earlier. No one was hurt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Iran for the latest violence.

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Conflicts between Israel, Gaza militants feature both old, new elements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - (Analysis) March 15, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The four-day conflicts between Israel and militant groups in the Gaza Strip starting from Friday and ending with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, has been one of the longest of the year, which features both new elements such as the Iron Dome anti-rocket system and the old elements of the previous rounds.

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The storm over Bamba and apathy concerning Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) March 15, 2012 - 12:00am

For four consecutive days and nights, millions of citizens of this country once again lived under conditions of fear and terror. The innovation was that, this time, no one tried to whitewash things. The mass terror was to be expected and it stemmed directly from an Israeli act of violence. Nevertheless, no one thought of expressing opposition.

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Match, Spark...
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) March 14, 2012 - 12:00am

The recent flareup of violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza has all the disturbing qualities of a foretaste of more bitter things to come. Most troublingly, this latest round of attacks and counterattacks, which achieved nothing for either side, brings us ever closer to a possible third Palestinian intifada.

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The killing of Zuhair al-Qaissi exposes Israel's attitude to its supreme court
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Mya Guarnieri - (Opinion) March 14, 2012 - 12:00am

The recent escalation between Israel and Gaza began after Israeli forces assassinated Zuhair al-Qaissi, a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a militant group composed of members of various Palestinian parties. Haaretz noted that the PRC was "the organisation that captured Gilad Shalit", the Israeli soldier who was freed in October 2011. The army says that al-Qaissi was behind the August 2011 attack that took place on the Israeli-Egyptian border – even though the PRC denied involvement and it was later revealed that the militants came from Sinai, not Gaza.

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Egypt-mediated truce calms Israel-Gaza border
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Karin Brulliard - March 13, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — A reported truce mediated by Egypt on Tuesday appeared to bring a shaky calm to the most intense cross-border fighting in three years between Israel and militants based in Gaza Strip. The cease-fire, which Egyptian state media said took effect hours before dawn on Tuesday, is intended to halt a four-day cycle of more than 300 militant-fired rockets into southern Israel and dozens of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Though both sides have warned that the conflict could expand, neither has seemed inclined to escalate to all-out war.

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Hamas: Egypt offered fuel in return for calm
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 13, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Egypt offered to provide fuel to Gaza if militants agree to a ceasefire with Israel, Hamas-affiliated MP Younis al-Astal said Monday. The Gaza Strip has faced up to 18-hour blackouts per day since Egypt cut fuel supplies through an underground tunnel network, and officials are negotiating an emergency route to stave the power crisis. Gaza's sole power station shut down on Saturday evening for the third time in the past month.

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