Hamas: We're prepared to end cease-fire and confront Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - November 18, 2008 - 8:00pm

Hamas' military wing announced Tuesday it was "prepared for a confrontation with Israel" and for the end of the cease-fire with Israel. But political sources said the cease-fire was expected to go on. Hamas' Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades threatened to "turn the cease-fire tables on the heads of the Zionists," they said in a statement. Abu Obeida, the alias of a spokesman for the military wing, threatened that Hamas would "retaliate fiercely" should Israel resume its targeted-killings policy, as some defense officials have said were advisable after the cease-fire.

»

8 Qassams hit western Negev
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ilana Curiel - November 16, 2008 - 8:00pm

Eight Qassam rockets were fired at communities in the western Negev's Eshkol Regional Council on Monday morning. There were no reports of injuries but several houses were damaged. Residents of the Eshkol Regional Council were ordered to enter fortified rooms. The Al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's military wing, claimed responsibility for the attack. Following the barrage, the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip was put on hold.

»

Hamas fires long-range rockets at Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Abed Shana - November 13, 2008 - 8:00pm

Hamas Islamists fired long-range rockets at a southern Israel city on Friday after an Israeli air strike on their Gaza stronghold in the 11th day of skirmishes that threaten a five-month-old truce. The armed wing of the Islamist group said it fired five Grad rockets, the longest-range weapon it has used against the Jewish state. Israel said they hit Ashkelon, north of Gaza on the Mediterranean coast, with no casualties.

»

IDF: Army may need to respond to fresh terror alerts from Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - November 9, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip may be planning to execute terror attacks against Israel which would require responsive military operations like the one carried out last week, Israeli defense officials said on Sunday. Over the next two days, Defense Minister Ehud Barak will determine whether to reopen the border crossings with Gaza, which were shut down last Wednesday after Gaza militants resumed rocket fire on the western Negev.

»

Six die in Israeli attack over Hamas 'tunnel under border to kidnap soldier'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by James Hider - November 4, 2008 - 8:00pm

A five-month truce between Israel and the Islamist rulers of the Gaza Strip was foundering today after Israeli special forces entered the besieged territory and battled with Hamas militants, leaving six Palestinian fighters dead and four Israeli soldiers wounded. The Israeli military described the operation as a “pinpoint” raid to destroy a 250-metre tunnel it said the hardline Palestinian movement was digging under the border to try to kidnap an Israeli soldier, as it did in summer 2006.

»

Livni slams 'flagrant violation' of truce as Qassams hit western Negev
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - November 4, 2008 - 8:00pm

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Wednesday that Israel could not put up with "flagrant violations" of the cease-fire agreement with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, after dozens of Qassam rockets hit Israel on Wednesday. The rocket barrage came a day after an Israel Air Force strike in the southern Strip killed at least five militants and wounded several others. Hamas claimed responsibility for the rockets, but vowed interest in maintaining the five-month old truce.

»

Israel's dilemma: Obama vs. Qassams
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - November 4, 2008 - 8:00pm

No declaration of support and no promising statements can diminish the fear many Israelis' have of U.S president - elect Barak Obama. An elderly woman of Iraqi descent tells her daughter: "I saw them dancing. They're like the Arabs." The daughter replies: "I know - he'll support the Palestinians." "This is the end of us. He will take away our military foreign aid grants," another man states. These recent responses to Barak Obama's election are typical of many Israelis.

»

Gaza militants fire Qassam at Israel, in fresh truce violation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
September 28, 2008 - 8:00pm

Gaza militants fired a Qassam rocket at Israel on Monday in a fresh violation of the truce between Israel and Hamas in the coastal territory, according to Army Radio. The rocket did not reach Israeli territory, though, exploding within the bounds of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip a few hours before the start of Rosh Hashanah. The cease-fire reached June 19 between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas has been occasionally violated by Palestinian rocket and mortar fire, leading Israel to punitively shut Gaza's border crossings.


Palestinians Pick Abbas Over Haniyeh
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Angus Reid Global Monitor
September 23, 2008 - 8:00pm

Few people are ready to elect Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to run the Palestinian Authority, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO). If Haniyeh ran for the presidency against Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, Haniyeh would get 24.8 per cent of the vote, while Abbas would garner 46.6 per cent. In a different scenario, Haniyeh would also lose with 25.7 per cent of the vote against 48 per cent for Marwan Barghouthi, a Fatah member currently serving time in an Israeli jail.

»

Israel may reduce goods entering Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Hanan Greenberg - September 22, 2008 - 8:00pm

The defense establishment is currently assessing the possibility of reducing commodities transferred daily to the Gaza Strip in an effort to press Hamas to proceed with negotiations on the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai confirmed this report in an interview with Ynet Tuesday, in which he said the matter would be discussed and possibly carried out in the coming weeks. Before the ceasefire the siege on the Strip was an important factor in halting the rocket fire towards Sderot and the Gaza vicinity towns.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017