January 6th

CNN NEWSROOM TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT: Crisis between Gaza and Israel deepens
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
January 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Aired January 5, 2009 - 09:00 ET HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Two huge stories and the world is watching this morning. Sirens well and explosions thunder in Gaza. The crisis with Israel deepens. And in Washington, an incoming president and his new challenges. Barack Obama gets to work today on the nation's lousy economy. New details on his plans and what they could mean to you. Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Today is Monday, January 5th and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM…. Joining us now from Washington, Dr. Ziad Asali. He's with the American Task Force on Palestine.

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Israeli Strike Hits Refugees Near a U.N. School in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Taghreed El-Khodary, Isabel Kershner - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am

Despite mounting diplomatic pressure to end its offensive in Gaza, Israel’s military onslaught unfolded for an 11th day on Tuesday amid reports that it had struck near a United Nations school, killing at least 30 people among hundreds who had sought refuge from the fighting.

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Forty-two killed after Israeli shell hits UN school in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by James Hider - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am

Forty-two women and children were killed in an attack at a UN-run school in Gaza today, the third such assault in 24 hours. The attack, which appeared to come from an air strike from two Israeli F16s, happened at the al-Fakhora school in Jabaliya refugee camp, causing carnage inside and outside the building, where hundreds of Palestinians had sought refuge from fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants. Initial reports had said the devastation was caused by a tank shell exploding.

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Mideast political conundrum: Settlement expansion is a threat to peace negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) January 6, 2009 - 1:00am

The renewed violence between Israel and Hamas, in which 1.5 million innocent Palestinians are caught, is yet another definitive demonstration that there is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel will not be able to secure its future, normalize its relations with the region and live in peace without an agreement with the Palestinians; Palestinians will not achieve liberation and independence without an agreement with Israel.

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Mideast political conundrum: Settlement expansion is a threat to peace negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) January 6, 2009 - 1:00am

The renewed violence between Israel and Hamas, in which 1.5 million innocent Palestinians are caught, is yet another definitive demonstration that there is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel will not be able to secure its future, normalize its relations with the region and live in peace without an agreement with the Palestinians; Palestinians will not achieve liberation and independence without an agreement with Israel.

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January 5th

The Israeli offensive in Gaza continues, in spite of efforts to find a ceasefire (1, 2). Palestinian civilian suffering is examined in numerous harrowing accounts, and the BBC asks, who is a civilian in this conflict (3, 4, 5, 6). Ha’aretz looks at how much time Israel has to continue its offensive, and American papers examine the role of the change in American administrations in the timing and conduct of the attack (7, 8, 9). Obama advisor Dennis Ross gives his views on a ceasefire (10). Al Jazeera critiques US media coverage of the conflict, while the Observer examines Israel’s media strategy (11, 12). Ephraim Sneh makes the case for the Israeli action and terms of a workable ceasefire, while Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed and the National question the political effects of the attack (13, 14, 15). An article posted on the official English-language website of the Muslim Brotherhood movement asserts that Hamas would welcome being freed from "the burden of government" (16).

Reflections on the Israeli holocaust in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from IkhwanWeb
January 3, 2009 - 1:00am

The virtual holocaust Israel is now waging against the Gaza Strip is taking its toll on innocent civilians. The shocking scenes speak for themselves. The gruesomeness transcends reality; it exceeds by far the most eloquent of words. Gaza-2008-9 is very much like Dresden-1945. And as Dresden was annihilated by the RAF toward the end of the Second World War, the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza are being decapitated and thoroughly terrorized by the Israeli army, the Wehrmacht of our time.

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Will Israel never learn from its mistakes?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
January 5, 2009 - 1:00am

The Israeli military’s ground incursion into the Gaza Strip is a tragic but unsurprising development in the current conflict, with the ostensible goal of stopping the rocket fire into Israel. An aerial bombardment was never going to be enough to eliminate the highly mobile rocket teams employed by Hamas and other militant groups based in Gaza. But because the escalation of violence was so readily apparent, the continued refusal of the United States to allow a UN Security Council mandated ceasefire to pass is inexcusable.

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Righting a Wrong for the Sake of the People of Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - January 5, 2009 - 1:00am

There is a clear difference between the 1.5 million people that make up the population of the Gaza Strip, and the few hundred which comprise the leadership and activists which fill the Hamas movement's ranks. Whatever differences one might have with the movement, one must realize that Gaza is not Hamas; and that the Gaza Strip is not owned by the Hamas movement, and its people are not Hamas soldiers, yet it is being punished in place of the movement.

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Why Israel Is Bombing Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Ephraim Sneh - January 1, 2009 - 1:00am

When demands are made of Israel to halt its military activities in Gaza, a brief historical reminder is in order. In September 2005, Israel vacated Gaza, dismantled all the settlements in the Gaza Strip and did not leave a shred of a presence there.

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American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017