Middle East News: World Press Roundup

An Op-Ed by Dr. Ziad Asali warns of the grave dangers of a possible Israeli military action in Gaza (1). A truce is reached between Hamas and Israel (2) (7) (9) (10). Two articles look at the effects and future of the Gaza blockade (3) (5). The Israeli Knesset considers holding early elections (6). The IDF announces plans to remove some roadblocks in the West Bank region of Kalkilya in exchange for what it calls “a cessation of local terror activity” (11). An ATFP translation of an article in Al-Ayyam Daily looks at the situation in Palestine one year after the Hamas takeover of Gaza (12).

---

---

---

Israel Agrees To Truce With Hamas On Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - June 18, 2008 - 4:05pm JERUSALEM — The prime minister and defense minister of Israel have agreed to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire with Hamas for the Gaza area starting Thursday, Israel Radio reported on Wednesday morning. Egyptian and Hamas officials had already announced on Tuesday that a deal had been reached. An unidentified senior Egyptian official told the state news agency MENA, "The Palestinian and Israeli sides have accepted the first stage of a reciprocal and simultaneous period of calm, starting in the Gaza Strip, from 0600 on Thursday." » Read more

As Israeli Siege Strangles Gaza Strip, Hamas, Smugglers Profit Off Tunnels ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Griff Witte - June 18, 2008 - 4:07pm RAFAH, Gaza Strip -- Deep beneath the sands of this battle-scarred border town, Abu Mosab is making a fortune. The money comes in the form of blue jeans, candy bars, cigarettes, shoes, refrigerator parts, gasoline and generic Viagra. All of it and more passes through Abu Mosab's subterranean tunnel as it makes its way from Egypt to Gaza. And all of it is highly profitable because of a strict Israeli blockade that, officially at least, has kept out all but the most basic supplies. For smugglers such as Abu Mosab, the siege has been their salvation. » Read more

A Conversation With Richard Falk ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation by Linda Marmoun - June 18, 2008 - 4:09pm In the course of a scholarly life that has spanned more than five decades and includes fifty-four books and dozens more articles, Richard Falk has received a great deal of criticism--from the right and from the left. Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton, is considered one of the world's most prominent critics of US interventionism. This distinction alone would explain why he is disliked by many foreign policy hawks. » Read more

Israel Ready To Ease Gaza Blockade If Truce Holds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) June 18, 2008 - 4:10pm Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned on Wednesday that Israel\'s imminent truce with Hamas in and around the Gaza Strip could be short-lived and said the military stood ready to act if it failed. "We have no illusion but that this truce is fragile and could be short-lived. Hamas has not changed its skin," Olmert said at a conference in Bet Yehoshua, north of Tel Aviv. » Read more

Israeli Parliament To Consider Early Election ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters June 18, 2008 - 4:14pm JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's parliament could hold a preliminary vote as early as June 25 on whether to dissolve itself and force an election that could replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, legislative officials said on Wednesday. Olmert has vowed to stay in office and continue to lead his Kadima party unless indicted in a corruption investigation that has drawn calls from political allies and foes alike for his resignation. » Read more

Hamas Feels It Benefits More From A Truce Than Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Shaul Arieli - (Opinion) June 18, 2008 - 4:41pm The policy of "throwing away the keys" that characterized the Israeli withdrawal and removal of settlements from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005 played right into Hamas' hands as it sought to achieve political and social objectives based on a strategy of "armed struggle" and non-recognition of Israel. » Read more

Blair, Merkel To Help Palestinians Rebuild ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by Andrew Bishop - June 18, 2008 - 4:44pm Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be hosting an inter-ministerial conference in Berlin on June 24 with the aim of rallying the international community around their effort to strengthen the Palestinian Authority's judicial and security capabilities. » Read more

Day Before Truce, Gaza Barrages Continue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Hanan Greenberg - June 18, 2008 - 4:47pm Despite the formal announcements from Jerusalem, Gaza and Cairo announcing the ceasefire agreement will go into effect at 6:00 am on Thursday, it was the routine of incessant attacks Israel's South awoke to on Wednesday. In the most recent attack a house in Sderot was hit directly, and ten residents suffered from shock. A woman lightly injured her leg while running for cover. » Read more

Gazans Eagerly Awaiting Ceasefire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - June 18, 2008 - 4:49pm Weary, and wary - Gaza's residents are counting the hours until the ceasefire between Israel and the armed groups in the Strip comes into effect (6:00 am on Thursday). The overall feeling in the streets is of satisfaction mixed with disbelief that the truce will last. After all, the region has known its share of failed truces. "The people here are very happy. Some even allowed themselves to go out in the city last night," Ahmad al-Najar, a resident of the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, told Ynet. » Read more

Idf To Remove Kalkilya Roadblocks As 'reward' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - June 18, 2008 - 4:51pm The Civil Administration in the West Bank has negotiated a deal with a number of Palestinian villages in the Kalkilya region in which dirt roadblocks cutting off their access to nearby cities and roads would be lifted in exchange for the cessation of local terror activity, a senior IDF commander told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. » Read more

A Year After The Takeover: “hamas” Birds On The Tree! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-ayyam by Rajab Abu Sariya - June 18, 2008 - 4:52pm Not only did President Mahmoud Abbas’ popularity rise since his calls for Palestinian dialogue, but also his political savvy has become evident, on both the domestic and diplomatic fronts. The timing and form of the presidential initiative didn’t allow Hamas to stall or refuse to negotiate, and that is what explains the talks in Cairo and Dakar and the resurgence of hope and optimism, despite wariness and caution shared by both observers and citizens. » Read more

---

---