April 8th

11 killed in Gaza, dozens injured in series of strikes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 8, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli air strikes and artillery fire have hit Gaza eight times Friday, killing six, and bringing the total number of dead over the past 24 hours to eleven, almost half of who were civilians. A mother and daughter, and elderly man were killed in two separate strikes near Khan Younis, and a fourth unidentified man was killed in the most recent strike near Gaza City. » Read more

Israelis conducting global war on Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Eli Lake - April 7, 2011 - 12:00am Israel's security agencies are stepping up targeted attacks throughout the world on Hamas' leadership in what one Israeli official called "intelligence-based prevention." In the past two months, Israeli operatives have intercepted a German ship in international waters, fired a missile at a suspected Hamas leader in Sudan, and captured a Hamas engineer in the Ukraine, according to Israeli and Western officials and press reports from the region. » Read more

Palestinian killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - April 8, 2011 - 12:00am At least one Palestinian was killed and two Israelis were injured Thursday amid escalating violence between Israel's military and militants in the Gaza Strip. The clashes marked the first time the Israel Defense Forces successfully deployed a new short-range rocket interception system, Iron Dome, to destroy a Palestinian rocket launched toward the city of Ashkelon. » Read more

The Goldstone Chronicles ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) April 7, 2011 - 12:00am We have a new verb, “to Goldstone.” Its meaning: To make a finding, and then partially retract it for uncertain motive. Etymology: the strange actions of a respected South African Jewish jurist under intense pressure from Israel, the U.S. Congress and world Jewish groups. » Read more

Germany Pushes Israelis on Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Judy Dempsey - April 7, 2011 - 12:00am As Germany moves closer to other European countries in adopting an increasingly tough stance toward Israel’s reluctance to resume peace negotiations with the Palestinians, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that it was more urgent than ever that the talks be restarted. With the Middle East highly volatile as fighting and protests continue in a number of countries, Mrs. Merkel warned the visiting Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, against any further delay in returning to the negotiating table. » Read more

Warning by Israeli on U.N. Nod to Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Dan Bilefsky - April 7, 2011 - 12:00am President Shimon Peres of Israel warned Thursday against potential attempts by the United Nations to impose a Palestinian state on Israel and said that the recent recanting of the harshest conclusions by the author of a United Nations report accusing Israel of war crimes was insufficient to undo the “libels” caused to Israel’s reputation. » Read more

April 7th

Poll: Majority of Egyptians support maintaining Israel peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz April 7, 2011 - 12:00am A poll conducted by The International Peace Institute published by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday shows that a majority of Egyptians would like to see a continuation of the peace treaty with Israel. "Maintaining and advancing peace with Israel has far wider appeal than a rupture in relations," reads the report on the poll, citing 60 percent of those polled as supporting maintaining the peace treaty with Israel. Those polled added, however, that they are also vying for the creation of an independent Palestinian State. » Read more

World Bank: Palestinian economic growth stunted by 'closure regime' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - April 6, 2011 - 12:00am The World Bank on Wednesday commended the Palestinian Authority for its institution-building efforts, but voiced concern over limited economic growth in Palestinian-run areas in both Gaza and the West Bank. "Rebuilding the Palestinian economy's productive capacity is a priority,” Mariam J. Sherman, World Bank Country Director for the West Bank and Gaza told donors, in presenting her report on the matter. "While we commend the solid performance of Palestinian institutions, we are concerned about the prospect for continued economic growth," said Sherman. » Read more

Authors of peace initiative invite Bibi to take lead ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Aviel Magnezi - April 6, 2011 - 12:00am A group of businessmen, former defense establishment officials and leading professors presented before the press on Wednesday the "Israeli Peace Initiative" that aims to restart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to adopt their proposal. The manifest calls for a two-state solution based on the1967 borders, with a Palestinian state stretching across most of the West Bank, with east Jerusalem as its capital. » Read more

Rattling the Cage: Goldstone was never the problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) April 6, 2011 - 12:00am For Israel and its blind supporters, Operation Cast Lead just got stamped glatt kosher. Richard Goldstone writes in The Washington Post that IDF investigations have changed his mind, that he now thinks Palestinian “civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy,” so Israel is saying this proves the war in Gaza was a good war, a just war. The most moral war on Earth. » Read more