Peace making requires application of the law
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) February 12, 2010 - 1:00am

Of the many long-running conflicts that see two communities competing for the same piece of land, three in particular have always caught my attention: Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Palestine-Israel. The first is on the way to being resolved through peaceful political negotiations, with another advance this week in the areas of police powers and administration of justice. The Cyprus conflict has long lost its military edge, and shows signs of moving towards a breakthrough, due to both internal leadership changes and external pressures and inducements.

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Why Hamas is denying it targeted civilians in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Erin Cunningham - January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

Ahead of a looming deadline for Israel and Hamas to respond to war crimes charges in the UN-sponsored Goldstone report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) hit back today at a claim made by Hamas earlier this week that its fighters did not commit war crimes in its three-week war with Israel last winter. Instead, said Hamas, its fighters struck civilian areas in Israel “by mistake” when launching rockets at the country’s military installations.

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Hamas clears itself of UN Gaza war crimes charges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
January 27, 2010 - 1:00am

The Islamist Hamas movement said Wednesday it has investigated allegations in a UN report into last winter's Gaza war and absolved Palestinian armed groups of any atrocities. The UN Human Rights Council report authored by the respected former international prosecutor Richard Goldstone accused both Israel and Palestinian groups of war crimes during the devastating 22-day conflict.

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Hamas cannot stop rockets into Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Erin Cunningham - (Analysis) January 12, 2010 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY // While Israel and the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah trade heated accusations over who is to blame for stalled US-led peace talks, Hamas’s inability to thwart fresh rocket attacks into Israel by other Gaza-based militant groups might also give Israel cause to delay steps to create a Palestinian state. Rebuffing comments made last week by the US peace envoy, George Mitchell, suggesting Israel was to blame for failed peace negotiations, Israeli officials instead claimed that continued rocket fire from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip aimed to provoke Israel.

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Hamas wants rocket fire halt to avoid Israeli retaliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - January 12, 2010 - 1:00am

Hamas in Gaza tried to ease tension with Israel and Egypt on Tuesday, urging other Palestinians to stop firing rockets into the Jewish state and promising Cairo answers over the shooting of an Egyptian soldier at the border. Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Islamist movement's government in the coastal enclave, said other armed groups in the Gaza Strip should observe what has amounted to a ceasefire since Israel's major offensive a year ago. That, Haniyeh said, was in the interests of protecting Gazans from Israeli attacks.

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'Watch your step,' Barak warns Hamas over renewed Gaza rocket fire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - (Analysis) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Addressing an increase of rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday advised Gaza's Hamas rulers to "watch their step, and not to cry crocodile tears if they force [Israel] to take action." Army Radio on Monday quoted Israeli security experts as saying that Hamas has lessened its determination to prevent the rocket fire from Gaza, due to growing dissent in the coastal strip.

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Palestinian attacks test Israel's quick-retaliation policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - (Analysis) January 9, 2010 - 1:00am

A recent spate of cross- border and mortar attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip -- the worst in a year -- is testing Israel's resolve to strike back hard against such provocation. But it remains to be seen whether the get-tough approach will hinder or escalate violence, analysts and officials said Friday. Israeli military planes struck several Gaza targets early Friday, including what Israeli officials described as the first air attack on Gaza City in nearly a year.

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Editorial: ‘Iron Dome’ system
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel says it is about to initiate a major “strategic” shift in its battle with the Palestinians. It has conducted a successful test of a short-range rocket interceptor that will now be rolled out along its border with Gaza in the coming six months. The “Iron Dome” system will, it is said, defend against rockets fired by militant Palestinians into Israel and also against mortar rounds. At a later date, the rocket shield will be deployed along the border with Lebanon.

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Reports of 14 projectiles launched into Israel as fliers warn Gazans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Editorial) January 7, 2010 - 1:00am

Gaza – Ma’an – The Popular Resistance Committees claimed a third round of mortar launches Thursday afternoon, following two early morning barrages aimed at Israeli targets in and around the Gaza Strip, sources said. The total number of confirmed launches stood at 11 by the mid-afternoon, with three more reported after 2pm, while Israeli media sources said 10 of the mortars landed in the southern Negev. One of the projectiles landed near the Kerem Shalom crossing, prompting its closure.

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Captive Helps Close the Distance Between Israelis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - December 8, 2009 - 1:00am

When Prof. Gadi Wolfsfeld asks his political science students at Hebrew University if Israel really should free 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including organizers of terrorist attacks, for one seized soldier, as the Israeli government is currently contemplating, he faces a stony silence. “People feel extremely uncomfortable raising it,” he said. “It’s so politically incorrect that you run the risk of being labeled a monster. We all feel like we know this boy and we know his family.”

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