January 4th

Attacks Further Split Arab Rulers, People ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Anthony Shadid - January 4, 2009 - 1:00am "War on Gaza" was the description the satellite channel al-Jazeera gave for the Israeli ground invasion that began Saturday, a culmination of eight days of bombing that have killed hundreds of Palestinians in the crowded seaside strip. But across the Arab world, the struggle was as noteworthy for what was becoming a war at home. » Read more

The New Meaning of an Old Battle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Lee Myers - January 3, 2009 - 1:00am WASHINGTON — In unleashing a series of punishing attacks in Gaza last week, Israel clearly aimed to hand Hamas a defeat from which it could not recover anytime soon. The campaign may succeed, experts here and in Israel say, but it could also backfire. Either way, the political consequences could reverberate throughout the Middle East, all the way to Iran, and help determine the ability of President-elect Barack Obama to pursue his stated goals of calming the Middle East through diplomacy. » Read more

Invasion Offers Benefits but Also Risks to Both Sides ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Sudarsan Raghavan, Griff Witte - January 4, 2009 - 1:00am In the first eight days of Israel's battle against Hamas, the conflict was fought from the air, with Israeli fighter jets striking from the skies on targets in Gaza, and with Hamas firing unguided rockets with the hope they would land on Israelis living in cities as far as 25 miles away. » Read more

Is the Real Target Hamas Rule? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - January 4, 2009 - 1:00am EREZ CROSSING, on the Israel-Gaza border — As Israel’s tanks and troops poured into Gaza on Saturday, the next phase in its fierce attempt to end rocket attacks, a question hung over the operation: can the rockets really be stopped for any length of time while Hamas remains in power in Gaza? And if the answer is determined to be no, then is the real aim of the operation to remove Hamas entirely, no matter the cost? » Read more

International community giving Israel time to weaken Hamas in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - January 4, 2009 - 1:00am The international community, headed by the U.S. and Egypt, is giving Israel time to carry out the ground offensive in Gaza, so it will severely damage Hamas' regime. The rationale behind such a move is that a weakened Hamas would improve the chances of achieving a stable agreement in Gaza once the fighting subsides. And so there is a degree of foot-dragging in the diplomatic efforts to reach a cease-fire. The most visible sign of this was the decision to postpone the United Nations Security Council discussion on Gaza planned for Monday. » Read more

Israeli Troops Advance, Bisecting Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Taghreed El-Khodary, Isabel Kershner - January 4, 2009 - 1:00am GAZA — Israeli troops advanced into Gaza on Sunday under cover of heavy air, tank and artillery fire after opening a ground war against the militant group Hamas on Saturday night. Witnesses said the Israeli forces had punched across Gaza, bisecting its northern and southern parts, and had taken over certain strategic areas, including what the military has described as rocket launching sites. » Read more

January 3rd

How Did Hamas Fail to Anticipate This? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) January 2, 2009 - 1:00am Hamas claims that it was surprised by the [Israeli] attack and the Israelis boast that they win battles by using the element of surprise. An Arab minister said that he was actually used to deliver a false message without being aware of what he was doing, and reassured Hamas that Israel was not planning to wage an attack against it. Accordingly, Hamas elements felt at ease and continued to deliver speeches and fire missiles that target nothing but farms and unpopulated areas. » Read more

Israel has no real strategy to deal with Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) January 3, 2009 - 1:00am Israel has opted to launch a major attack on Hamas in Gaza. The idea appears to be to use heavy military force, primarily from the air, but with a limited objective: to weaken Hamas to a point where it returns to a cease-fire on conditions congenial to Israel. The opening conditions were favorable from Israel's standpoint: It achieved tactical surprise in launching a Sabbath attack while much of the world was busy with Christmas and New Year celebrations. » Read more

No solution without a Palestinian peace plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Roula Khalaf - January 1, 2009 - 1:00am The residents of Gaza saw in the new year with more Israeli air strikes and the prospect of an imminent ground offensive. Unlike other wars, where populations run out of the conflict zone and refugee crises develop, Gazans have nowhere to go. Long before Israel’s latest offensive, the strip had been locked up from all sides, with no access to the outside world. Six days into the Gaza operation it is already looking like another mindless war, from which no one can emerge a winner. Israel has destroyed a good part of the Hamas infrastructure – it may, in fact, be running out of targets. » Read more

Israel's Insane War in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) January 2, 2009 - 1:00am Israel's war in Gaza is an act of political insanity. It is the product of a deeply disturbed society, able neither to curb its military arrogance nor calm its profound paranoia. The consequences are likely to be painful for Israel's long-term prospects. By radicalising the Palestinians, and by arousing great anger in the Arab and Muslim world, this savage war rules out the possibility of Israel's peaceful integration in the region for the foreseeable future. That may even be its cynical aim, since Israel wants dominance, not peaceful coexistence. » Read more