Hamas vows to fight with Hizbullah in next war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
January 4, 2010 - 1:00am

Hamas official in Lebanon Ali Baraka vowed on Sunday to fight alongside Hizbullah in the next Israeli war on Lebanon. “We are guests in Lebanon and our policy will not change,” Baraka said during a memorial service to mark one week since the death of two Hamas members in a mysterious explosion in Beirut’s southern suburbs. “However, we are committed to resisting Israeli occupation” forces,” he added. “Israel should know that if it launched a new attack against Lebanon, we will not stand handcuffed.

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Tough Military Stance Stirs Little Debate in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 24, 2009 - 1:00am

In the year since Israel launched its devastating military offensive against Hamas in Gaza, the country’s political and military leaders have faced intense international condemnation and accusations of possible war crimes. But Israel seems to have few qualms. Officials and experts familiar with the country’s military doctrine say that given the growing threats from Iranian-backed militant organizations both in Gaza and in Lebanon, Israel will probably find itself fighting another, similar kind of war. Only next time, some here suggest, Israel will apply more force.

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Report: Hamas leans toward accepting Israel offer on Shalit deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - December 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Hamas is leaning toward accepting Israel's latest offer on a deal for the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, the pan-Arab newspaper A-Sharq Al-Awset reported Thursday. According to the paper, the proposal does not include the release of hardened Palestinian terrorists from Israeli custody. There are still divisions within Hamas over the matter, A-Sharq Al-Awset reported, between those who back accepting the current offer, and those who want the Islamist militant group to insist on the terrorists' release.

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Abbas urges Netanyahu to wrap up Shalit deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 14, 2009 - 1:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas recently sent a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking him to finalize a prisoner swap deal between Israel and the captors of soldier Gilad Shalit, the Hebrew-language daily Ma'ariv reported Sunday. The report says Abbas sent the message through a third party. The president reportedly asked Netanyahu to release Hamas' prisoners in addition to Fatah's Marwan Barghouthi and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's Ahmad Sa'adat.

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Ahmadinejad tells Mashaal to not rush Shalit deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - December 14, 2009 - 1:00am

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad advised Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal to wait on concluding the prisoner exchange deal with Israel, until it includes the maximum number of Palestinian prisoners to be released, according to Gaza-based news agency Qudsnet. Qudsnet quoted Iranian media sources close to the government as saying that Mashaal updated Ahmadinejad with the latest developments during their Sunday meeting in Tehran.

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Support the boycott-Israel campaign
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Adel Safty - (Opinion) November 2, 2009 - 1:00am

A new dimension of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is emerging as an effective means of peaceful protest against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land: boycotting Israel. Some four years ago, a loosely connected group of Palestinian activists and civil organisations launched an international appeal calling on citizens and corporations to join the boycott Israelcampaign to protest the occupation.

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As occupier, Israel must face up to Goldstone report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) October 26, 2009 - 12:00am

Goldstone was born in June 1967. I am not referring to the judge from South Africa, but to his report, or more precisely, the notion that Israel needs a synonym for the soul-searching it must carry out after 42 years of occupation. In the 575 pages of the report that is loaded with details, names, numbers, a list of weapons, interrogation methods and articles of international law, three paragraphs hide among the conclusions on pages 521 and 522, numbered 1674 to 1676. Here lies the explanation for the tragic results of Operation Cast Lead.

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Deputy PM to Haaretz: Israel must probe Gaza war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gidi Weitz - October 21, 2009 - 12:00am

Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor thinks Israel should establish its own independent committee to investigate Israel Defense Forces activity in the Gaza Strip during last winter's Operation Cast Lead.

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Israel spying devices found by UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
October 19, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli spying devices that were planted during the 2006 war with Hezbollah have been discovered in southern Lebanon, the UN has said. UN peacekeepers discovered the buried devices when they were blown up by remote control by Israel on Sunday. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora accused Israel of blatantly violating the UN Security Council resolution that led to the end of fighting. Israel has declined to comment directly on the matter.

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'Schalit release likely by mid 2010'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yaakov Katz - October 2, 2009 - 12:00am

A prisoner swap with Hamas for the release of St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit will likely take place after January but before the Palestinian elections, which are to be held by June, The Jerusalem Post learned on Thursday. The scheduled release on Friday of 20 Palestinian female security prisoners in exchange for a video recording of Schalit was an indication that talks on an exchange are on a "positive track," a foreign official involved in the mediation said, but he stressed that this did not mean a swap was imminent.

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