Support flotilla, with all its faults
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) July 6, 2011 - 12:00am

For political reasons, I wouldn’t go on the flotilla that’s trying to sail from Greece to Gaza, nor would I board the planned “air flotilla” to Ben-Gurion Airport on Friday. But for weightier political reasons, I hope the people on the boats make it to Gaza and those on the planes get through to the West Bank (even though it’s understood Israel won’t let them). As a Zionist, I don’t identify with these activists. But as a hater of the occupation, I support what they’re doing now. My heart isn’t really with them - but my head is.

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2 killed in IDF strike on terror cell
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Hanan Greenberg - July 5, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israel Air Force targeted a terror cell in Gaza Tuesday, after it was identified as attempting to fire projectiles at Israel. The pilots reported hitting their mark. A Palestinian medical source said two people were killed and one wounded in the strike, which took place east of the Maghazi refugee camp. The sources said the three were hit while approaching the security fence in central Gaza; adding that the bodies were taken to the Gaza hospital. It is still unclear which militant organization the three were associated with.

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Siege of Gaza has become a moral blockade of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yitzhak Laor - (Opinion) July 5, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel is indeed connected to the centers of power in the world. The predictions of a tsunami at present seem to be exaggerated, but nevertheless, before the victory ball, it is worth remembering - the Israeli occupation is the longest military occupation of modern times.

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The blockade is the problem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) July 4, 2011 - 12:00am

All signs indicate that the government of Israel has taken steps to receive the present Gaza flotilla in a manner much more systematic than last year's actions. Instead of relying entirely on the use of force, diplomatic measures were taken this time, and friendly states, first and foremost Greece, mobilized to help Israel and hampered the flotilla's departure. This diplomatic action proved that there are alternatives less violent than Israel's predilection for discharging armed soldiers to suppress civilian protests.

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With Gaza flotilla stalled, both sides claim victory
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - July 3, 2011 - 12:00am

After intense diplomatic efforts and threats of military action, Israel appeared Sunday to have stymied an attempt to challenge its naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, with nearly all boats in a planned aid flotilla confined to ports in Greece. Israeli officials pronounced themselves satisfied with efforts to block the flotilla, which have averted a confrontation at sea. Last year, Israeli naval commandos boarded a similar flotilla and killed nine people in clashes on a Turkish ship, drawing international condemnation that forced Israel to ease its land blockade of Gaza.

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Gaza flotilla organizers: 2nd ship sabotaged
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Karin Laub - June 29, 2011 - 12:00am

Organizers of a Gaza-bound flotilla say Israel has sabotaged a second ship. An activist told Israel's Army Radio that the engine of an Irish ship was damaged. Earlier this week, activists said Israel damaged the propeller of a Swedish ship in the Greek port of Piraeus. Israel has not commented on the allegations. About 10 ships are due to set sail this week from Greece. It's unclear if the damaged boats will delay things. Israel imposed a naval blockade after Hamas militants overran the Palestinian territory in 2007. It says it will not allow the flotilla to reach Gaza.

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Israel Navy rehearses raid ahead of new Gaza-bound flotilla
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
June 15, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Navy on Wednesday held an exercise incorporating several special forces units as part of ongoing preparations to prevent an international aid flotilla from reaching the Gaza Strip in the coming weeks. The organizers of "Freedom Flotilla 2," to include 15 ships and some 1,500 pro-Palestinian activists, plan to set sail from European ports later this month and are expected to approach Gaza coast in the first week of July.

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Brutal blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) June 15, 2011 - 12:00am

It has been five years since Israel imposed its oppressive and inhuman blockade on the Gaza Strip. Without doubt it has been easily one of the toughest and most trying periods in the eventful history of the Palestinian people. The proud and fiercely independent people, however, have refused to give in to Israeli diktats or allow their fighting spirit to waver under the totally asphyxiating blockade of Gaza by land, air and sea.

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Israeli navy forces Gazan fishermen to cast nets inland
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Rebecca Collard - June 3, 2011 - 12:00am

Bassam El-Najjar once made his living from the seas off Gaza's coast. For two decades he set out each morning to catch tuna, sardines and mackerel from the waters of the eastern Mediterranean. Not any longer. Now El-Najjar drops his nets into a large fish pool dug in the earth of a 0.5 hectare farm near Khan Younis in the central Gaza Strip. "The sea is closed," he says, scooping a handful of pellets and scattering them across the water. Freshwater tilapia come to the surface, swallowing the feed.

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Interview: Gaza needs 5 bln USD for reconstruction process: official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Drimly, Osama Radi - June 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Head of Palestinian Contractors Union Osama Kaheil said Wednesday that the Gaza Strip is in need of five billion U.S. dollars for the reconstruction process including the infrastructure and the economical sectors that had been paralyzed for years. Kaheil said in an interview with Xinhua that the Gaza Strip is not only in need of reconstructing what the Israeli occupation had destroyed during the three-week Israeli operation Cast Lead in late 2008, adding "the Gaza Strip is in need of comprehensive reconstruction process that includes all sectors."

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