Peace Is No Longer in Sight
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Tom Segev - January 10, 2009 - 1:00am

At the end of the 10th day of Israel's operation in the Gaza Strip, I was zapping between Israeli, Arab and international TV channels. The pictures grew more gruesome from moment to moment. Then a friend called to tell me that Mezzo, a French concert channel, had just started playing "Christ on the Mount of Olives," a rather obscure oratorio by Beethoven.

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'Viva la Gaza!'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - January 9, 2009 - 1:00am

The list of objectives for Operation Cast Lead that the political-security cabinet dictated to the Israel Defense Forces on the eve of the operation was characterized by restraint. It included halting the rocket fire and terror, reducing Hamas' capacity to rearm, continuing talks with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, striking a blow to Hamas' rule in Gaza, preventing a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and improving the odds for the release of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

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The hundred years' war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
(Editorial) January 8, 2009 - 1:00am

WITH luck, the destructive two-week battle between Israel and Hamas may soon draw to an end. But how long before the century-long war between Arabs and Jews in Palestine follows suit? It is hard to believe that this will happen any time soon. Consider: Israel’s current operation, “Cast Lead”, marks the fourth time Israel has fought its way into Gaza. It almost captured Gaza (behind a pocket containing a young Egyptian army officer called Gamal Abdul Nasser) in 1948, in the war Israelis know as their war of independence.

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United Nations Security Council Resolution 1860
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Nations News Service
January 8, 2009 - 1:00am

SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE, DURABLE, FULLY RESPECTED CEASEFIRE IN GAZA LEADING TO FULL WITHDRAWAL OF ISRAELI FORCES Resolution 1860 (2009) Adopted by 14 in Favour, Abstention by United States; Also Calls for Unimpeded Humanitarian Assistance, Welcomes Egyptian Initiative

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Unintended Consequences Pose Risks for Mideast Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - January 7, 2009 - 1:00am

President-elect Barack Obama will inherit a perilous situation in the Middle East, with Israel under increasing pressure to halt its ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, key Arab leaders close to the United States greatly weakened and the Hamas militant group earning resurgent popularity in the region. After days of studied silence on the Gaza conflict, Obama promised yesterday "to hit the ground running" on achieving a broad Middle East peace deal.

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How Israel brought Gaza to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Avi Shlaim - January 7, 2009 - 1:00am

The only way to make sense of Israel's senseless war in Gaza is through understanding the historical context. Establishing the state of Israel in May 1948 involved a monumental injustice to the Palestinians. British officials bitterly resented American partisanship on behalf of the infant state. On 2 June 1948, Sir John Troutbeck wrote to the foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, that the Americans were responsible for the creation of a gangster state headed by "an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders".

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Transcript: Stephen Hadley
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by John D. McKinnon - (Interview) January 7, 2009 - 1:00am

The Journal's John McKinnon sat down with National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley at his office in the West Wing. They talked about the situation in Gaza, the U.S. relationship with Russia, Iraq and more in an interview previewing a valedictory speech Mr. Hadley plans to deliver Wednesday. Below is an edited transcript of the interview. * * * The Wall Street Journal: Talk a little about the challenges, as well as the opportunities, that the next administration is going to face.

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Grief and Rage at Stricken Gaza School
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Taghreed El-Khodary - January 7, 2009 - 1:00am

The bodies of the children who died outside the United Nations school here were laid out in a long row on the ground. Some were wrapped in the vivid green flag of Hamas, some were in white shrouds, and some were in the yellow flag of Fatah, which is rarely seen these days in Hamas-run Gaza. Hundreds of Gazans crowded around, staring at the little faces, some of them with dark eyes still open, but dulled.

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Gaza civilian death toll rises steeply
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rory McCarthy, Chris McGreal - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am

The civilian death toll in Gaza increased dramatically today, with at least 12 members of an extended family, including seven young children, killed in an air strike on their house in Gaza City while the bombing of two United Nations schools being used as shelters took 13 lives. The bodies of the Daya family were pulled from the rubble of a house in Gaza City's Zeitoun area after it was hit by two Israeli missiles. The dead included seven children aged from one to 12 years, three women and two men. Nine other people were believed to be trapped in the rubble.

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Israeli Strike Hits Refugees Near a U.N. School in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Taghreed El-Khodary, Isabel Kershner - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am

Despite mounting diplomatic pressure to end its offensive in Gaza, Israel’s military onslaught unfolded for an 11th day on Tuesday amid reports that it had struck near a United Nations school, killing at least 30 people among hundreds who had sought refuge from the fighting.

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