Meeting of Arab leaders on Gaza ends in discord
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Diana Elias - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Arab leaders trying to come up with a plan to rebuild Gaza ended their meeting Tuesday in discord, unable to agree on whether to back Egyptian peace efforts or even set up a joint reconstruction fund for the devastated Palestinian territory.

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Hamas claims victory, of sorts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Ashraf Khalil - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Uniformed police officers returned to the streets of Gaza on Monday with machine guns in tow as Hamas sought to reassert control over the battered coastal enclave, declaring that Israel’s 22-day air and land assault had done nothing to weaken the militant group’s authority here. “Hamas emerged from this battle with its head held high,” said Hamad Ruqb, a Hamas official in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. “Every Israeli attack only increases our support.”

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Gaza needs a unified Arab response
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Opinion) January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Both Israel and Hamas have claimed victory with their respective unilaterally declared ceasefires, but it is difficult to see what they gained after 22 days of death and destruction in the Gaza Strip. Despite the assault, Hamas’s ability to launch rockets persists. As if to drive the point home, it launched 19 rockets into Israel while the Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, was announcing the ceasefire. Hamas, despite having survived the assault, now rules over a devastated populace.

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In the Silence, Gazans Take Stock
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Reyham Abdel Kareem, Craig Whitlock - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

For the first time in 24 days, there was no fighting in the Gaza Strip on Monday -- no shelling or shooting by Israeli soldiers, no launching of rockets by Hamas guerrillas. But there was still plenty of death, as rescue crews and survivors dug under demolished buildings to retrieve the last victims of the war.

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The Lessons of the Massacre
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Ghassan Charbel - (Opinion) January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Every time the events of Gaza are discussed, one must not forget the magnitude of the massacre perpetrated by Israel there. An unprecedented massacre during which the Hebrew State set an extremely serious precedent as the advanced military machine pulverized civilians to compel fighters to stop rocket attacks. The world has beheld scenes it had thought would never happen or recur.

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Many Civilian Targets, but One Core Question Among Gazans: Why?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Sabrina Tavernise - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Three young medical students were snapping photographs of a scene of devastation on Monday: five stories of mint-green, concrete rubble that until Israel’s war with Hamas began had been their science lab. “They hit my future with a rocket,” said Muhammad Baroud, one of the students at the Islamic University in Gaza City. “This is a university. What does it have to do with war?”

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IAF bombs Gaza target after 8 mortar shells fired at Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

The Israel Air Force on Tuesday evening bombed a target in the Gaza Strip used earlier in the day Palestinian militants to fire eight mortar shells at Israel. Militants on Tuesday also opened fire at Israel Defense Forces soldiers in Gaza in two separate incidents, in the first violation of a shaky cease-fire in the coastal strip that ended Israel's 3-week offensive against Hamas. No IDF soldiers were wounded in the incidents, one of which took place near the Kissufim border crossing, and the other in the center of the Strip. In one of the incidents the troops returned fire.

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Gaza rebuild 'to cost billions'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Rebuilding the Gaza Strip after Israel's three-week offensive will cost billions of dollars, the UN has warned. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been left homeless and 400,000 people still have no running water, it says. The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, is currently visiting northern Gaza to see what assistance can be provided. Ceasefires declared by Palestinian militant groups and Israel are holding, and Israeli troops are expected to complete their pull-out later.

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Embers of Mideast peace in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
(Editorial) January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

With the Gaza war at a strategic pause with a cease-fire, hopes for peace may now depend on Barack Obama's likely point man for the Middle East, Dennis Ross. He promises a new style of "statecraft" in dealing with Israeli-Palestinian issues. His usual first tactic after such flare-ups is to look for small steps to rebuild trust. But is there any trust to come out of the ruins of Gaza? Yes, once the world decides to look for it and if a declining number of peacemakers on both sides don't give up hope for a solution.

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Both Hamas and Israel claim victory following 22 days of death and destruction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Australian
by John Lyons - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

ISRAELI troops began withdrawing from the Gaza Strip yesterday as both sides agreed to a ceasefire and both sides claimed victory in the 22-day conflict. No air strikes, rockets or major clashes were reported in the territory, giving Gazans their first night of complete peace since the start of Israel's massive assault on Hamas in their stronghold on December 27. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel wanted to leave "as fast as possible", while Hamas claimed it had defeated Israel in "a heavenly victory".

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