Lieberman set to be Israel’s kingmaker
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck - February 4, 2009 - 1:00am

Avigdor Lieberman has been called a racist and a fascist, ridiculed as a former nightclub bouncer and branded a threat to Israeli democracy. He is under investigation for alleged corruption, and the target of torrents of abuse from his political opponents. Yet Mr Lieberman, the leader of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party and a political bruiser of the first order, may yet have the last laugh. With just a week to go until Israel’s general election, his party looks certain to emerge as one of the big winners.

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From Gaza to Jerusalem: the impact of war on the Israeli election
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Peter Beaumont - (Editorial) February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Out of Gaza and across the border to the sound of rocket fire. A handful of hours later I am at the Hebrew University for a lecture by Gershon Baskin, one of Israel's most prominent peace activists, who is describing his attempts to open a channel of communication between Israel's leaders and Hamas.

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Hamas official to 'Post': Deal likely this week
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Brenda Gazzar, Yaakov Katz, Tovah Lazaroff - February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

A top Hamas official told The Jerusalem Post late on Monday that he believes an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas is likely to be reached by Thursday. Ahmed Youssef, the Gaza-based deputy foreign minister and former political adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, said he had not yet heard back from a Hamas delegation in Cairo, which was scheduled to meet Egyptian officials about a cease-fire proposal. But he said he was optimistic that a cease-fire agreement was imminent.

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In Shattered Gaza Town, Roots of Seething Split
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Sabrina Tavernise - February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

The phosphorus smoke bomb punched through the roof in exactly the spot where much of the family had taken refuge — the upstairs hall away from the windows. The bomb, which international weapons experts identified as phosphorus by its fragments, was intended to mask troop movements outside. Instead it breathed its storm of fire and smoke into Sabah Abu Halima’s hallway, releasing flaming chemicals that clung to her husband, baby girl and three other small children, burning them to death.

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Don’t Try This at Home
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

In recent days, some have questioned whether Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was making a big mistake in appointing so many “special envoys,” such as George Mitchell, to handle key trouble spots, like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I think they are right to question Mrs. Clinton about this plethora of envoys. But I don’t think the problem is that she has too many; it’s that she doesn’t have enough. In the case of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, she may need at least a half-dozen envoys.

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Israeli planes hit Gaza tunnels
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Israeli planes have bombed smuggling tunnels on Gaza's border with Egypt, the Israeli military says. The raid came after a rocket fired from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip hit the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The attacks are the latest violations of ceasefires declared by both sides after an Israeli assault on Gaza meant to stop militant rocket fire on Israel. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised a sustained effort to create a Palestinian state.

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Israel-Hamas war deals blow to schools in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Karin Laub - February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

The jewel of Gaza's bare-bones education system — a U.S.-style school on lush grounds overlooking the Mediterranean — is now a mound of broken concrete. The territory's only laboratory for genetic testing, at a Gaza university, lies in ruins. With 37 primary and secondary schools destroyed or damaged by air strikes, and 18 others still serving as refugee shelters, learning in Gaza has become even more of a struggle.

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Turkey still ready to seek Mideast peace: Erdogan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday his government remains committed to mediating a peace deal between Israel and Palestinians despite an angry public exchange last week with Israel's president. Erdogan also said U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon had phoned him Monday to ask him to continue Turkey's role as a Middle East mediator.

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Supporters fete Erdogan for stand at Davos over Israeli massacres in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
February 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stood firm Friday of his criticism of Israel's war against the Gaza Strip, in which more than 400 children were killed. Erdogan received a hero's welcome on his return to Istanbul and the Palestinian Hamas movement hailed his "courageous stand" after he walked out of a debate on the Gaza war at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "We will never allow anyone to show disrespect to the prime minister of Turkey," Erdogan told a cheering crowd as he returned home following his clash with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

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Mitchell gets earful from Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Caryle Murphey - February 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Winding up his week-long tour of the region, President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, met Saudi officials here over the weekend for an exchange of ideas on ending the volatile Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr. Mitchell conferred with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud bin Faisal Saturday night and met with King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Sunday.

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