Israel’s obduracy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) March 26, 2011 - 12:00am

IN the wake of increased violence and heightened tension along the Gaza border, Palestinians continue to sound a willingness to renew efforts toward peace with Israel. Israeli politicians are also calling for action — for stronger military reaction to the latest spike in Mideast attacks and reprisals.

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In Gaza, rocket attacks seen as a smokescreen
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - March 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Yousef Mohammed, 61, is not ready to die by what he and many others in this besieged Palestinian territory cynically regard as little more than a ploy by Hamas. Militants here have recently been allowed to fire a flurry of rockets deep inside Israel, undermining more than two years of relative calm since the country's three-week military assault on Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, killed as many 1,400 Palestinians. Thirteen Israelis died in the fighting that also obliterated much of Gaza's infrastructure.

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'IDF will have to carry out large-scale operation in Gaza'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
March 25, 2011 - 12:00am

Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) on Friday said that he estimates that the IDF will eventually have to carry out a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip, bigger than Operation Cast Lead. Sa'ar made the comments in an interview with Israel Radio. Sa'ar said that he understood local authorities in the South who decided to cancel school in light of increased rocket and mortar fire, but emphasized that the Home Front Command said that studies could continue as usual.

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Why Israel is wary of getting into another Gaza war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - March 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Fighting along the Israeli-Gaza border that has killed at least 11 people continued Thursday for the sixth-straight day, despite parallel pledges by Israel and Hamas to restore calm amid the worst violence since the 2009 Gaza war. Israeli aircraft on Thursday fired on low-profile targets such as border smuggling tunnels, while Gaza militants launched mortars and homemade rockets into southern Israel. One rocket even struck within 16 miles of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.

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ANALYSIS-Surge in violence "arose from Hamas internal row"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Douglas Hamilton - March 24, 2011 - 12:00am

An ill-fated attempt to smooth over a dispute in Gaza's Palestinian Islamist movement was the real reason behind the salvo of mortars Hamas fired at Israel four-days-ago, triggering a flare-up of fighting, observers say. If it was a ploy, it went badly wrong. Ten people have been killed in the cycle of violence, and some on both sides fear a new war could erupt unless it is contained. On Thursday, Palestinian militants fired more rockets and Israel directed more air strikes at the enclave, as the spiral of armed exchanges showed no sign of abating.

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Gaza militants fire rockets deep into Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Aron Heller - March 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a new wave of rockets that landed deep inside Israel Thursday, defying Israeli retaliatory attacks and threats. As the violence threatened to escalate the day after a deadly Jerusalem bombing, Israel got a boost from the visiting U.S. defense chief, who said no country could tolerate the "repugnant" attacks on its soil.

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Israel struggling to avoid head-on clash with Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - March 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel's response to the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip remained limited on Thursday. One reason could be that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is abroad and the Israel Defense Forces will escalate its attacks when he returns. Another could be that Israel understands that it currently has little to gain from an escalation with Hamas. The air force's attacks on Thursday seemed symbolic. Gaza residents told Haaretz that among the targets was the old intelligence building, abandoned years ago, and a Hamas post no longer in use that had been bombed five times before.

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Second wave of strikes injures 1 in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 24, 2011 - 12:00am

A second Israeli airstrike Thursday morning hit a group of men beside a gas station in the northern Gaza Strip around 8:30 a.m., hours after a wave of strikes targeted sites across the coastal enclave. Spokesman of the higher committee of ambulance and emergency services Adham Abu Salmiya said the latest bombing targeted a site near the Jabaliya refugee camp, and injured one. A statement from Israel's military said the air force "identified a group of terrorists preparing to launch rockets at Israeli territory, and thwarted the attempt by firing at them."

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Rockets From Gaza Hit Deep Into Southern Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram - March 23, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian militants fired rockets far into southern Israel late Tuesday and early Wednesday and Israel responded with airstrikes in Gaza. Tensions were running high after a stray Israeli mortar shell killed three Palestinian youths and a 60-year-old man as Israel responded to a rocket attack a day earlier. In a separate attack on Tuesday night, the Israeli Air Force killed four militants in a car, all members of Islamic Jihad, the organization and the Israeli military said. The army said the men were preparing to launch rockets at Israel.

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UN's Serry condemns killing of civilians in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 23, 2011 - 12:00am

The UN's envoy to the Middle East Robert Serry on Tuesday condemned Israel's killing of civilians in Gaza. On Tuesday afternoon, an Israeli tank fired at a family playing football outside their home in the eastern part of the Ash-Shaja’iya neighborhood in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it regretted harm to innocent civilians, but blamed Hamas, who it said operated in civilian areas. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Serry condemned the attack and expressed concern at the escalating situation in Gaza and southern Israel.

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