Gaza: This is News, This is Not News

BBC Radio 4's Today programme has an extended item on Israel and Palestine this morning, as Prime Minister Gordon Brown is meeting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, but its only reference to Gaza is "Palestinian militant groups, of which Hamas is the largest" and "the possibility of incipient violence." The New York Times does consider Hamas but in the context of a possible division in the leadership over continuation of a truce with Israel. The Washington Post is concerned about a parade in which Hamas "bragged about its violent exploits".

Hmmm....what could be missing here? I don't know, maybe....

Gaza Families Eat Grass as Israel Locks Border

Politics and Religion: The Gaza Non-Pilgrimage

Our partner blog, State of the United States, has a fascinating item explaining why there will be no pilgrims from Palestine to Mecca this year. The incident, involving not only the rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas but also Saudi Arabia, is almost as illuminating as it is depressing.

There is further coverage of the story in The New York Times.