February 3rd

From Gaza to Jerusalem: the impact of war on the Israeli election
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Peter Beaumont - (Editorial) February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Out of Gaza and across the border to the sound of rocket fire. A handful of hours later I am at the Hebrew University for a lecture by Gershon Baskin, one of Israel's most prominent peace activists, who is describing his attempts to open a channel of communication between Israel's leaders and Hamas.

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UN backtracks on claim that deadly IDF strike hit Gaza school
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - February 2, 2009 - 1:00am

The United Nations has reversed its stance on one of the most contentious and bloody incidents of the recent Israel Defense Forces operation in Gaza, saying that an IDF mortar strike that killed 43 people on January 6 did not hit one of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools after all.

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Barak: Build Tunnel Linking West Bank and Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
February 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday proposed the construction of a 30-mile tunnel that would connect the northern Gaza Strip with the southern West Bank, thus enabling freedom of movement between the two disjointed Palestinian territories.

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Turkey still ready to seek Mideast peace: Erdogan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday his government remains committed to mediating a peace deal between Israel and Palestinians despite an angry public exchange last week with Israel's president. Erdogan also said U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon had phoned him Monday to ask him to continue Turkey's role as a Middle East mediator.

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Israel-Hamas war deals blow to schools in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Karin Laub - February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

The jewel of Gaza's bare-bones education system — a U.S.-style school on lush grounds overlooking the Mediterranean — is now a mound of broken concrete. The territory's only laboratory for genetic testing, at a Gaza university, lies in ruins. With 37 primary and secondary schools destroyed or damaged by air strikes, and 18 others still serving as refugee shelters, learning in Gaza has become even more of a struggle.

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Gaza rocket hits Ashkelon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

A long-range Grad rocket from Gaza landed in the Israeli city of Ashkelon today as Hamas delegates met Egyptian officials in Cairo for talks aimed at securing a long-term truce with Israel. The rocket was the first of its kind to be fired at the city of 122,000 since informal ceasefires were declared separately by Israel and Hamas two weeks ago at the end of Israel's three-week-long offensive in Gaza. No one was injured in today's attack, police said.

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Israeli planes hit Gaza tunnels
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Israeli planes have bombed smuggling tunnels on Gaza's border with Egypt, the Israeli military says. The raid came after a rocket fired from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip hit the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The attacks are the latest violations of ceasefires declared by both sides after an Israeli assault on Gaza meant to stop militant rocket fire on Israel. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised a sustained effort to create a Palestinian state.

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February 2nd

Mideast envoy George Mitchell wraps up his weeklong tour of the region (1). As Israel prepares to hold general elections next week, the situation in Gaza is a central issue (2). In Paris today Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attempts to increase diplomatic support for reconstruction of Gaza (4) while public tensions persist between Hamas and Fatah (11) (13). Work continues in Cairo to broker a ceasefire acceptable to both Hamas and Israel (5). An editorial in Haaretz criticizes Israel’s recent decision to invest in a new Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem (12).

Gaza counts the cost – and assigns blame
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
February 1, 2009 - 1:00am

Two weeks after an uneasy ceasefire ended Israel's 22-day offensive, Gaza is still struggling to come to terms with the cost of more than 1,300 Palestinian lives, more than 5,000 injuries and the total or partial destruction of some 20,000 homes.

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Israel's Key Election Issue: Did War End Too Soon?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Griff Witte - February 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Just over a week before Israel holds elections to choose a new government, the outcome of the war in the Gaza Strip has emerged as a central issue in the campaign, with the candidates sparring over whether the massive military operation went far enough. The argument reflects the reality that elections here often turn on a single question: Who looks tougher on national security?

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