January 21st

Israel Slows Withdrawal From Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - January 21, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel slowed its withdrawal of forces from Gaza on Tuesday as the two-day cease-fire with Hamas suffered its first violations. Israeli troops twice came under fire, and eight mortar shells were shot at Israel, all falling short. Israel responded with airstrikes on launching sites. Thousands of Palestinians supported Hamas at four rallies here while the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, visited to express support for those who had suffered in the war. An Arab meeting in Kuwait aimed at helping Gaza ended in disarray.

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Israeli completes Gaza troop pullout
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - January 21, 2009 - 1:00am

The last Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the military said, as Israel dispatched its foreign minister to Europe in a bid to rally international support to end arms smuggling into the Hamas-ruled territory. The timing of the pullout reflected Israeli hopes to defuse the crisis in Gaza before President Barack Obama entered the White House. The military said troops remain massed on the Israeli side of the border and are poised to take action if militants violate a fragile three-day cease-fire.

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January 20th

Echoing the words of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in 2006, Hamas leaders express surprise at the scale of Israel’s attack, while the group claims “victory” (1), (2). Into the second day of the cease-fire, residents of Gaza continue to take stock (3), (4). Gaza reconstruction will cost “billions,” but Arab leaders have been unable to agree a strategy for rebuilding (6), (7). President Abbas is seen as “the big looser” in the conflict, but Ha’aretz reports that outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Olmert privately discussed dividing Jerusalem with Arab leaders (8), (9). An op-ed by ATFP President Ziad Asali and Tom Dine, former executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, urges President Obama to take immediate steps to salvage a two state solution to Middle East peace (10). The Christian Science Monitor and the Middle East Times consider the return to government of former Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross (11), (12). The Guardian notes that Arab governments have been severely discredited during the conflict (14). Bret Stephens suggests that Israel scored a tactical “victory,” while David Grossman points to the futility of such violence (15), (16).

Gaza success proves Israel is strong, not right
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by David Grossman - (Opinion) January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Like the pairs of foxes in the biblical story of Samson, tied together by their tails, a flaming torch between them, so Israel and the Palestinians - despite the imbalance of power - drag each other along. Even when we try hard to wrest ourselves free, we burn those who are tethered to us - our double, our misfortune - as well as ourselves. And so, amidst the wave of nationalist hyperbole now sweeping the nation, it would not hurt to recall that in the final analysis, this last operation in Gaza is just another stop along a trail blazing with fire, violence and hatred.

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Israel Scored a Tactical Victory
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
(Opinion) January 19, 2009 - 1:00am

Atop a little hill near the beleaguered Israeli town of Sderot, a gaggle of TV crews train their cameras on the Gaza Strip, sentinels to a unilateral Israeli cease-fire that's barely 12 hours old. Earlier the same day, Sunday, Hamas fired 20 rockets into Israel, raising questions about its intentions but causing little serious damage. Later, a pair of Israeli F-15s streak over Gaza City, releasing bursts of chaff but dropping no bombs.

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Gaza has exposed the Arab leaders to fury and contempt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ian Black - (Opinion) January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

It was Monday, so it had to be Kuwait. And there they were, 17 leaders and five senior representatives of all 22 members of the Arab League, gathered to discuss the impact of the global economic crisis, though the original agenda was hijacked by the end of Israel's devastating three-week onslaught against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

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What Was the Gaza War About?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Claude Salhani - (Opinion) January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

The 23-day war in Gaza ended almost as abruptly as it began. And it ended in a way that allows for both sides in the conflict to declare victory. That is an important point if the parties involved aspire to move forward toward peace. This is where the lessons of the June, 1967 Six-Day War are important.

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The Return of Dennis Ross
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

The return of veteran U.S. peace envoy Dennis Ross to his old beat on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process should receive a qualified welcome across the region: Ross and the policies of reconciliation that he can be guaranteed to energetically promote will be a vast improvement on the malign neglect of the past eight years practiced by President George W. Bush.

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Embers of Mideast peace in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
(Editorial) January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

With the Gaza war at a strategic pause with a cease-fire, hopes for peace may now depend on Barack Obama's likely point man for the Middle East, Dennis Ross. He promises a new style of "statecraft" in dealing with Israeli-Palestinian issues. His usual first tactic after such flare-ups is to look for small steps to rebuild trust. But is there any trust to come out of the ruins of Gaza? Yes, once the world decides to look for it and if a declining number of peacemakers on both sides don't give up hope for a solution.

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As Obama takes office, Mideast needs his attention
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Philadelphia Inquirer
by Ziad Asali, Tom Dine - (Opinion) January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Joe Biden predicted that Barack Obama would be tested by a foreign-policy crisis early in his term. The recent surge of violence in Gaza came even sooner than that. How Obama approaches Gaza will be critical not only for the immediate security of Israelis and Palestinians, but also for the resolution of the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. relations with the world's Muslims.

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