June 18th, 2008

Israeli Parliament To Consider Early Election ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters June 18, 2008 - 4:14pm JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's parliament could hold a preliminary vote as early as June 25 on whether to dissolve itself and force an election that could replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, legislative officials said on Wednesday. Olmert has vowed to stay in office and continue to lead his Kadima party unless indicted in a corruption investigation that has drawn calls from political allies and foes alike for his resignation. » Read more

Israel Ready To Ease Gaza Blockade If Truce Holds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) June 18, 2008 - 4:10pm Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned on Wednesday that Israel\'s imminent truce with Hamas in and around the Gaza Strip could be short-lived and said the military stood ready to act if it failed. "We have no illusion but that this truce is fragile and could be short-lived. Hamas has not changed its skin," Olmert said at a conference in Bet Yehoshua, north of Tel Aviv. » Read more

A Conversation With Richard Falk ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation by Linda Marmoun - June 18, 2008 - 4:09pm In the course of a scholarly life that has spanned more than five decades and includes fifty-four books and dozens more articles, Richard Falk has received a great deal of criticism--from the right and from the left. Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton, is considered one of the world's most prominent critics of US interventionism. This distinction alone would explain why he is disliked by many foreign policy hawks. » Read more

As Israeli Siege Strangles Gaza Strip, Hamas, Smugglers Profit Off Tunnels ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Griff Witte - June 18, 2008 - 4:07pm RAFAH, Gaza Strip -- Deep beneath the sands of this battle-scarred border town, Abu Mosab is making a fortune. The money comes in the form of blue jeans, candy bars, cigarettes, shoes, refrigerator parts, gasoline and generic Viagra. All of it and more passes through Abu Mosab's subterranean tunnel as it makes its way from Egypt to Gaza. And all of it is highly profitable because of a strict Israeli blockade that, officially at least, has kept out all but the most basic supplies. For smugglers such as Abu Mosab, the siege has been their salvation. » Read more

Israel Agrees To Truce With Hamas On Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - June 18, 2008 - 4:05pm JERUSALEM — The prime minister and defense minister of Israel have agreed to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire with Hamas for the Gaza area starting Thursday, Israel Radio reported on Wednesday morning. Egyptian and Hamas officials had already announced on Tuesday that a deal had been reached. An unidentified senior Egyptian official told the state news agency MENA, "The Palestinian and Israeli sides have accepted the first stage of a reciprocal and simultaneous period of calm, starting in the Gaza Strip, from 0600 on Thursday." » Read more

Op-ed: Miscalculation, How Hamas Wastes Palestinian Lives ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) June 18, 2008 - 4:04pm Since Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza last June, a pattern of tit-for-tat provocation has defined the organization's relationship with Israel. One side launches an attack, the other side responds with disproportionate or indiscriminate force. The period of escalation then tapers off until the next flare-up, which generally involves increased intensity, more civilian casualties and higher-grade weaponry. This spiraling escalation has created a self-reinforcing logic, leading inexorably to a major Israeli operation in Gaza. » Read more

June 17th

Senior Idf Officer Warns Lull Will Be Temporary, Fragile ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Atilla Somfalvi - June 17, 2008 - 5:29pm IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi spoke before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday and said that while the IDF is giving the ceasefire between Israel and the militant groups in Gaza a chance, it will continue preparing for an operation in the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Take Advantage Of Ceasefire: If We Don’t Use Lull In Order To Advance Peace Talks, We’ll Play Into Hamas’ Hands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yossi Beilin - June 17, 2008 - 5:27pm The decision has apparently been taken. After we already tried all other solutions, perhaps we have come to realize that the best way to stop the attacks on the western Negev is to reach a ceasefire. This is no great bargain, and certainly no substitute for peace. The fact that we are forced to reach either a direct or indirect agreement with Hamas is unpleasant. » Read more

37 Palestinians Arrested Near Umm Al-fahm ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Sharon Roffe-ofir - June 17, 2008 - 5:24pm Thirty-seven illegal Palestinian aliens were arrested near Umm al-Fahm in an operation conducted by the northern Border Police near Umm al-Fahm and Baka Al Garbia. Five of the detainees have limited access to Israel and another one is wanted by the Shin Bet. The six were turned into questioning and the rest of the detainees were sent back to PA territories.

Palestinians Killed In Gaza Raids ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al Jazeera English June 17, 2008 - 5:23pm Six Palestinians have been killed in three Israeli air strikes targeting the Gaza Strip, according to medics and witnesses.   Five people were killed and several others were wounded on Tuesday in one air raid near Qarara village east of the southern town of Khan Yunis, Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, said.  » Read more