Middle East News: World Press Roundup

A Christian Science Monitor opinion discusses how restraint in defense can help give Israel moral strength (1). A Washington Post editorial opines that the peace process will stall as long as Hamas controls the gaza strip (3). The Agence France Presse reports on attempts by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to salvage the Mideast peace process (6) while BBC News reports on calls by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for a truce in the region (7). An editorial in Haaretz examines the role of Shas in the Israeli political system (10).

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The Gaza Dilemma ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post (Editorial) March 4, 2008 - 6:26pm THE UPSURGE in fighting between Israel and Hamas over the weekend, and the resulting suspension of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, demonstrates again a crucial flaw in the Bush administration's Middle East strategy. President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have assumed that Hamas could be bottled up and ignored in the Gaza Strip while a deal for a Palestinian state was worked out. » Read more

Israel Pulls Troops From Northern Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe by Taghreed El-khodary And Isabel Kershner - March 4, 2008 - 6:27pm As Israel withdrew its forces from the northern Gaza Strip yesterday after a two-day assault on Hamas militants, and as Palestinians emerged from their houses to inspect the damage, Hamas leaders seemed to be following the playbook of their Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, in its 2006 war with Israel. more stories like this Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas in Gaza, said that like Hezbollah, Hamas had "gone from the stone to the rocket." "What we learned from Hezbollah," he said, "is that resistance is a choice that can work." » Read more

Israel Says Will Take Further Action In Gaza Despite Pullout ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters March 4, 2008 - 6:27pm Hamas declared victory after Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip on Monday following a US appeal to end days of fighting that killed more than 100 Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said despite the culmination of the five-day operation, in which two Israeli soldiers were killed, Israel would take further action in the Gaza Strip until cross-border rocket fire was cut significantly. » Read more

New Israeli Gaza Incursion Overshadows Rice Peace Push ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) March 4, 2008 - 6:29pm Israel launched a brief incursion into Gaza on Tuesday, overshadowing a new peace push by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who held talks at the time in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Palestinian medics said the Israelis shot dead a 20-day-old baby girl during exchanges of fire with gunmen, and that 10 people had been wounded, including at least three gunmen. » Read more

Abbas Calls For Middle East Truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News March 4, 2008 - 6:30pm After meeting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Ramallah, he urged Israel to "halt its aggression so the necessary environment can be created" Mr Abbas suspended the talks in protest at Israel's offensive in Gaza, in which more than 110 Palestinians have died. Ms Rice insisted she still believed a peace deal could be achieved this year. Before flying to the West Bank, Ms Rice held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo and other senior government officials. » Read more

The Cynicism Of Shas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) March 4, 2008 - 6:36pm One might be able to understand the clearly political reasons that led Eli Yishai - Shas chairman and minister of industry, trade and labor - to call for a national unity government yesterday at the Shas faction meeting. After all, he has repeatedly threatened that his party would vote no-confidence in the government if it continued the peace talks with the Palestinians. » Read more

Vanity's Fair? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - (Blog) March 5, 2008 - 7:44pm A well-timed Vanity Fair expose caused a flap on the first day of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip to the Middle East. The article, "The Gaza Bombshell," by David Rose, cited confidential documents and interviews to allege that the Hamas takeover stemmed from a secret Bush administration plan to use Fatah security forces to confront Hamas. Hamas, the article said, caught wind of the plan and acted before Fatah could, seizing the Gaza Strip. » Read more

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