March 4th

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."

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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.

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Rice To Raise Humanitarian Issues With Israelis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - March 4, 2008 - 6:25pm

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday she planned to tell Israeli officials to ease the humanitarian suffering in the Gaza Strip and avoid attacks that might kill civilians, but she repeatedly refused to say whether she supported a cease-fire.

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Israeli Exit From Gaza's Maze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
(Opinion) March 4, 2008 - 6:24pm

Israel long ago figured out how to protect itself from stone-throwing Palestinians and, to some degree, suicide bombers. It's made a formal peace with two Arab states and tacitly with others. Can it now stop Islamic rulers in nearby Gaza from raining small rockets on Israeli civilians in the name of terror? The aerial attacks by Hamas have escalated in recent weeks, largely for two reasons:

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March 3rd

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).

On The Path To Bitter Disappointment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Uzi Benziman - (Opinion) March 3, 2008 - 7:02pm

It was hard not to be confused yesterday by the reports and statements concerning the aims of the Israel Defense Forces operation in the Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Ehud Barak explained on Israel Radio that the operation is meant "at the end of the day" to stop the Qassam rocket attacks, but in and of itself it will not end the shooting. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was even more unequivocal: During the cabinet meeting he stated, "Israel has no intention to end the fighting against terror," and that "over the coming days we will hold security discussions...

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A Dark Overcast Warm Winter
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah
by Dr. Bernard Sabella - (Opinion) March 3, 2008 - 7:02pm

The weather here in Jerusalem and Gaza is overcast with many a dark cloud. It mirrors what is felt inside by so many Palestinians whose loved ones have been killed or injured by Israel’s army “Warm Winter” campaign against Gaza. The 110 Palestinians killed so far since Wednesday February 27th include at least ten children, the youngest a few months old, and an equal number of women. “Warm Winter” continues and it has put all of us Palestinians in a state of shock.

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More Forceful Action Needed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Opinion) March 3, 2008 - 7:00pm

It is indefensible if the UN Security Council fails to adopt an appropriate resolution on the latest Israeli violence against the Palestinians in Gaza. As it convenes today to consider an Arab-sponsored draft resolution condemning the Israeli attacks and calling for an immediate ceasefire, the Security Council should, for once, exercise its responsibility and prerogative, and force Israel to cease its barbaric onslaught on the Palestinians.

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Gaza The Victim
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al Hayat
by Elias Harfoush - (Opinion) March 3, 2008 - 6:59pm

The Gazans are falling victims caught between the blind Israeli aggression that does not distinguish child from fighter and the suicidal behavior that characterizes the Hamas Movement and its rockets that lure Israeli aggression and "test" the extent of its savagery and ability to kill civilians.

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Israel Defiantly Continues Gaza Attacks Amid International Outcry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
by Sakher Abu El Oun - March 3, 2008 - 6:58pm

GAZA CITY (AFP) Israel continued to hammer Gaza on Monday after vowing to press its campaign against militants despite an international outcry over the deadly onslaught that prompted even the moderate Palestinian leadership to cut off all peace talks. Five Palestinian activists were killed early Monday in raids by Israeli aircraft and shelling of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli navy, Palestinian security officials said.

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