Israel and Hamas battle on social media as well
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Lauren E. Bohn - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am


JERUSALEM —The hostilities between Israel and Hamas have found a new battleground: social media.The Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas militants have exchanged fiery tweets throughout the fighting in a separate war to influence public opinion. Shortly after it launched its campaign Wednesday by killing Hamas' top military commander Ahmed Jabari, the Israeli military's media office announced a "widespread campaign on terror sites & operatives in the (hash)Gaza Strip" on its Twitter account.


Signs mount of possible Israeli invasion of Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am


JERUSALEM —Israeli aircraft pummeled rocket launching operations of Gaza militants on Friday, and as troops, tanks and armored personnel carriers massed near the Palestinian territory, signaling a ground invasion might be growing near. Fighting between the two sides escalated sharply Thursday with a first-ever militant attack on the Tel Aviv area, menacing Israel's heartland. No casualties were reported, but three people died in the country's rocket-scarred south when a projectile slammed into an apartment building.


Egypt asks US to end Israel’s operation in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times of Israel
November 15, 2012 - 1:00am


CAIRO (AP) — Egypt asked the United States to push Israel to stop its offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, warning that the violence could “escalate out of control,” the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.


Obama presses Egypt to help rein in Hamas as Gaza conflict escalates
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Chris McGreal, Harriet Sherwood - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am


Barack Obama is pressing the Egyptian leadership to help de-escalate the bloody conflict in Gaza amid concern that a further ratcheting up of violence, such as a major Israeli ground assault, could damage the peace accords between Cairo and Jerusalem.


With Gaza Attacks, Egypt’s President Balances Hamas Against Israeli Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mayy El Sheikh, David Kirkpatrick - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am


CAIRO — The escalating conflict in Gaza has confronted President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt with a wrenching test of his commitments — to his fellow Islamists of the militant group Hamas and to Egypt’s landmark peace agreement with Israel.


Bolder Hamas Tests Alliances in a Shifting Arab World
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - November 15, 2012 - 1:00am


GAZA CITY — Instead of the wedding drums that typically provide the evening soundtrack in this forlorn coastal strip, the black, still air was pierced by gunshots on Thursday, as citizens fired celebratory rounds after the ruling Hamas faction announced that one of its rockets had hit an Israeli aircraft.


Fire continues during Egypt PM visit to Gaza, despite ceasefire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
November 16, 2012 - 1:00am


GAZA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A ceasefire that Israel declared for a visit by Egypt's prime minister to the Gaza Strip on Friday collapsed after Palestinians continued cross-border rocket attacks and Israel launched air strikes in the enclave. Rockets fired from Gaza hit several sites in southern Israel shortly after Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil arrived. The Israeli air force responded with an attack on the house of Hamas's commander for southern Gaza, and a Palestinian was killed in a separate air strike near Gaza City, the Islamist group said.


Israel Girds for Ground Assault in Gaza; Egypt’s Premier Visits
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Alan Cowell, Isabel Kershner, Jodi Rudoren - November 16, 2012 - 1:00am


JERUSALEM — After a morning of heavy rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, the Israeli military seemed to be edging closer to a ground invasion of Gaza on Friday, saying forces were “on standby” and “ready to enter should it be decided that a ground operation is necessary.”



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