Gaza's Agony
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Eyad El-Sarraj - (Opinion) January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

On the night Barack Obama won the U.S. presidency, he announced: "To all those ... who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world ... a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you.... The true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope." Obama's words made the world shiver with anticipation.

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Hamas clears itself of UN Gaza war crimes charges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
January 27, 2010 - 1:00am

The Islamist Hamas movement said Wednesday it has investigated allegations in a UN report into last winter's Gaza war and absolved Palestinian armed groups of any atrocities. The UN Human Rights Council report authored by the respected former international prosecutor Richard Goldstone accused both Israel and Palestinian groups of war crimes during the devastating 22-day conflict.

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Minister: Israel rejects UN Gaza war probe call
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Amy Teibel - January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel will not set up a special panel to investigate last winter's Gaza offensive, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday, rejecting a key demand of a U.N. report that accused the military of war crimes. Information Minister Yuli Edelstein said Israel would submit a document to the U.N. later this week that deals only with Israel's own investigations of its conduct during the three-week war. Those investigations have been conducted by the military, which has exonerated itself of any systematic wrongdoing.

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Abbas to form a committee to probe U.N. fact-finding report on Gaza war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 25, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered on Monday to form a committee to probe the recommendations of a United Nations fact-finding report over the Israeli war on Gaza last year. Abbas issued on Monday a presidential decree calling for forming a committee to investigate and study the report's recommendations, saying that the committee has to bring back a response after probing the report's recommendations.

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MIDEAST: Harsher Gaza War Looming on Horizon?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Mel Frykberg - (Analysis) January 19, 2010 - 1:00am

During the last week the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have carried out a series of raids and air strikes across the Gaza Strip which have left five Palestinians dead, three of them confirmed Islamic Jihad operatives, and a number wounded. The IDF action followed a renewal of rockets being launched at Israel from within the coastal territory. To date this is the most serious escalation in violence between Palestinian resistance fighters and the Israeli military since Cast Lead.

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A U.S. ‘charade’ in peace effort
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The San Diego Union-Tribune
by Miko Peled - (Opinion) January 14, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian national struggle continues to be largely ignored by the Obama administration. Our new president has failed to bring a new approach. As has been the case for the last 40 years, Palestinian attempts to settle the conflict through diplomacy are ignored or downplayed. When violence erupts, Palestinians are blamed and labeled terrorists. The United States maintains the charade that peace in Israel/Palestine is a priority and every new administration promises to bring the much-promised peace to the region only to fall into the same pattern of inaction and excuse-making.

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Bereft and Healing, a Father Returns Home to Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Jeffay - January 13, 2010 - 1:00am

“The blood of my daughters was a price that saved others’ lives,” said Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish. One year later, the Gaza physician is trying to make sense of the deaths of his children, killed by Israeli missiles during Israel’s military campaign. Related Articles Guileless in Gaza What Happens to Gaza When the Fighting Stops? Timeline: The Gaza Strip, From Disengagement to Operation Cast Lead

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Medics: Israeli strike kills 3 in central Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Gaza - Ma'an - At least three Palestinians were killed by Israeli aircraft fire in central Gaza early Sunday evening, medics reported. They were identified as Hasan Al-Qatarawi,22, and Awad Nasir, 29, both from from Deir Al-Balah, as well as Hudayfa Hams, 23, from Nusseirat refugee camp. All three were transferred to Al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza City, according to Muawiya Hassanein, the Gaza Health Ministry's director of ambulance and emergency services.

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Israeli jets attack targets across Gaza, killing 3
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Editorial) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli warplanes carried out a series of raids on sites throughout the Gaza Strip late Thursday night, witnesses said and Israel's military confirmed. Three citizens were killed and two others injured in the Israeli raids that targeted a tunnel near Rafah crossing south of Gaza. Medical sources in Abu Yousif An-Najjar hospital identified the dead as Barakat Abu Shalouf, Odai Abu Heesh, 15, and Naser Al-Mahmum, 22. Muawiya Hassanein, the Gaza Health Ministry's director of ambulance and emergency services said the jets struck four areas in total.

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PRC threatens to avenge 'occupation's crimes'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - (Analysis) January 6, 2010 - 1:00am

The Popular Resistance Committees organization threatened Wednesday to forcefully avenge an Israel Defense Forces airstrike Tuesday night, which left a senior group member killed and four group members injured. The organization's spokesman, Abu Mujahed, said that PRC would respond "to this crime" when the time is right. "We will not sit idle in light of the ongoing crimes of the Zionist occupation against our Palestinian people," he added.

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