February 3rd

Israeli commander: 'We rewrote the rules of war for Gaza' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - February 3, 2010 - 1:00am A high-ranking officer has acknowledged for the first time that the Israeli army went beyond its previous rules of engagement on the protection of civilian lives in order to minimise military casualties during last year's Gaza war, The Independent can reveal. » Read more

Barak: make peace with Palestinians or face apartheid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rory McCarthy - February 3, 2010 - 1:00am Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, last night delivered an unusually blunt ­warning to his country that a failure to make peace with the Palestinians would leave either a state with no Jewish ­majority or an "apartheid" regime. His stark language and the South African analogy might have been unthinkable for a senior Israeli figure only a few years ago and is a rare admission of the gravity of the deadlocked peace process. » Read more

Finally, some Palestinian responsibility ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Einat Wilf - (Opinion) February 2, 2010 - 1:00am The Israeli leadership has recently turned its attention – even if contemptuously – to the possible threat of a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state. Regardless of whether such a move will take place or not, the real issue is not in the declaration itself but in the possibility that it points to a deeper cultural change among the Palestinians – a change which was also noted with the participation of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad Tuesday night in the 2010 Herzliya Conference and his subsequent speech. » Read more

Salam Fayyad: Occupation must end ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - February 3, 2010 - 1:00am In a rare speech to an Israeli audience, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Tuesday that Israel must show the Palestinians that it is beginning to roll back the occupation, and that the way to do that is primarily by stopping both settlement construction and IDF incursions into Palestinian areas. » Read more

IDF risked civilians to save soldiers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post February 3, 2010 - 1:00am The IDF risked the lives of Palestinian civilians in order to minimize the risk posed to its soldiers during Operation Cast Lead, the Independent quoted "a high-ranking" IDF officer as saying in a report published Wednesday. The officer, who reportedly served as a commander during the war in Gaza, acknowledged that following the heavy casualties in the Second Lebanon War, the IDF went beyond its previous rules of engagement on the protection of civilian lives in order to minimize military casualties. » Read more

Fear of peace will be the death of Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) February 3, 2010 - 1:00am As the grandson of anarchists, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for fanatics. Expressions of extremism, and passionately reasoned, exquisitely twisted world views make me feel, how shall I put this, at home. So it was with a certain relish that I approached the cover story of a recent issue of Commentary, "The Deadly Price of Pursuing Peace," written as it was by a talented colleague and friend, Evelyn Gordon. » Read more

Dubai warns Mossad, Hamas against covert operations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - February 3, 2010 - 1:00am Dubai warned Israeli intelligence as well as Hamas of working "behind its back" on Wednesday, in the wake of the assassination of Hamas strongman Mahmoud al-Mabhouh last month. Dubai police chief Dahi Halfan warned international intelligence agencies from working "behind our back," saying anyone who did so "should be wary of his own back. Halfan added that that threat was also applicable "to any intelligence organization around the world, whether Mossad, Hamas or any other agency." » Read more

Police destroy third 'barrel bomb' washed ashore south of Tel Aviv ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yuval Azoulay, Anshel Pfeffer - February 1, 2010 - 1:00am Police on Wednesday said they had destroyed the third explosive device washed ashore in Israel this week. Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion at Palmachim beach, some 10 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, police said. Two barrels packed with explosive charges were picked up on Israeli beaches at Ashkelon and Ashdod on Monday. Two more are believed to have exploded on the shores of the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Fatah leader visits Gaza in goodwill trip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Rizek Abdel Jawad - February 3, 2010 - 1:00am A senior Fatah leader is visiting Gaza for the first time since the territory was seized by Fatah's Islamic militant Hamas rivals in 2007. Nabil Shaath, a Gaza native, said Wednesday that his three-day trip is meant to improve the atmosphere between the two factions. Repeated attempts at reconciliation have failed. Shaath handed his passport to Hamas border guards for registration, in a symbolic recognition of Hamas authority. Shaath says the trip has the blessing of Fatah's leader, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more

Hamas gives U.N. response to Gaza war crimes report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - February 3, 2010 - 1:00am The Islamist group Hamas on Wednesday formally rejected allegations it had committed war crimes during last year's fighting in Gaza, charges made in a United Nations report. Hamas officials said the group set out in a 52-page response handed to a U.N. official in Gaza that the killing of three Israeli civilians in rocket attacks during Israel's Dec. 27, 2008-Jan. 18, 2009 offensive was an accident and military installations had been targeted. » Read more