Israel lets farmers in Gaza send flowers to Europe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel temporarily eased its blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip Thursday to allow Palestinian flower growers to export 25,000 blooms to Europe ahead of Valentine's Day. The amount of carnations allowed out of the Gaza Strip was only a fraction of what farmers produce. Many farmers say they have no choice but to feed the crop to sheep. Israel tightened its blockade of the Gaza Strip after Hamas Islamists wrested control of the territory from President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction in 2007. Israel allows in aid, but exports are banned with few exceptions.

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After Israel's Election, Palestinians Weigh New Intifadeh
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time
by Tony Karon - February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel's election and the Gaza conflict have revealed the scale of the challenge facing U.S. President Barack Obama in jump-starting Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. Israeli voters tacked to the right, and the government that results from Tuesday's election will be, if anything, even less inclined than the current government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to conclude a two-state peace agreement with the Palestinian leadership.

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Gaza mortar shells strike western Negev; no casualties
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - February 11, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired four mortar shells at the western Negev during the course of the day Wednesday, a day after Israel held general elections, the results of which are likely to influence any future peace deal in the region. A Qassam rocket fired by Gaza militants exploded late Tuesday evening in an open field near the western Negev city of Sderot, just half an hour before the polls were to close.

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Israel, Hamas eye Gaza truce despite uncertainty
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Adam Entous - February 11, 2009 - 1:00am

Egyptian-brokered talks over a longer-term truce between Israel and Hamas in post-war Gaza will continue despite uncertainty over who will form the next Israeli government, Israeli and Hamas officials said on Wednesday. Hamas leaders have suggested that the growing clout of right-wing Israeli parties could prevent outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert from closing a deal.

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Israeli Uncertainty Buys Obama Time
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - February 11, 2009 - 1:00am

Publicly, the administration of President Obama has pledged to “hit the ground running” in reviving Middle East diplomacy. But the indecisive results of Israel’s elections have provided the White House with breathing room it actually welcomes.

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Violence breaks quiet of cease-fire on eve of Israel's national election
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
by Ibrahim Barzak - February 10, 2009 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY - Israeli aircraft struck two targets in the Gaza Strip and a Gaza militant died in a clash with troops on the border yesterday, as an official of the moderate Palestinian government accused Hamas of trying to boost hawkish candidates in Israel's election. The violence on the eve of the vote occurred as Egyptian mediators continued their efforts to cement a long-term cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, after the three weeks of intense fighting that racked the coastal territory last month.

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After Gaza War, Daunting Curbs On Rebuilding
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Griff Witte - February 8, 2009 - 1:00am

Mohammed Irhaiem's former home was a spacious 1,500 square feet and was built from solid concrete blocks. It had views of the Mediterranean and fruit trees in the yard. His new home, which he surveyed for the first time this week, measures 12 by 6 feet and is made of sheets of canvas held aloft by three wooden poles. His is one of 90 bright white tents that have sprouted in neat rows amid a sea of gray rubble, the wreckage from homes -- including Irhaiem's -- that were destroyed during the 22-day Gaza war between Israel and Hamas.

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Cairo talks end without Gaza deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
February 5, 2009 - 1:00am

The latest round of talks between Egypt and Hamas has ended in Cairo without a final agreement on a truce in Gaza. Egyptian officials had expressed hopes a deal would be signed on Thursday, but Hamas negotiators returned to Gaza and Damascus overnight with a number of issues still unresolved. Despite the setback, Hamas delegates are expected to return to Egypt on Saturday and officially accept an at least 12-month truce with Israel. Mohammed Nasr, a member of the Hamas delegation that travelled to Cairo, told Al Jazeera that some of the proposals discussed were "ambiguous".

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The Obama Administration and the Unavoidable Issue of Palestine
Policy Focus by ATFP - February 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Overview

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Abbas government announces $600 million Gaza aid project
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Sawafta - February 4, 2009 - 1:00am

The government of Western-back Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Wednesday a $600 million reconstruction program for the war-battered Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who heads Abbas's West Bank-based government, said the program would cover all Palestinian houses destroyed or damaged during Israel's 22-day military offensive in the Hamas-ruled enclave.

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