November 27th

In Annapolis, Conflict By Other Means
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Report
by Robert Blecher , Mouin Rabbani - November 27, 2007 - 1:33pm

At an intersection in front of Nablus city hall, a pair of women threaded a knot of waiting pedestrians, glanced left, then dashed across the street. “What’s this?” an onlooker chastised them. “Can’t you see the red light?” Not long after, his patience exhausted, the self-appointed traffic cop himself stepped off the curb and made his way to the other side of the boulevard.

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Beyond Cynicism, Reason For Real Hope
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Orlando Sentinel
by Rafi Dajani - (Special Report) November 27, 2007 - 1:29pm

Few events in Mideast peacemaking history have been subjected to as much cynicism as today's Annapolis meeting. This is due to the perceived lack of planning in the lead-up to the meeting, mismanagement of expectations, and the reported gaps between Israelis and Palestinians over the text of a joint declaration at the meeting's conclusion.

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Bush: 'battle Is Underway For The Future' Of Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Michael Abramowitz, Glenn Kessler - November 27, 2007 - 1:25pm

Opening a Middle East peace conference in Annapolis this morning, President Bush said that peace must be pursued because "a battle is underway for the future" of the region "and we must not cede victory to the extremists."

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Israelis And Palestinians Try To Set Pace For Peace Talks As Bush Plans Speech
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper, Steven Erlanger - November 27, 2007 - 1:24pm

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators made progress on Monday toward completing a joint statement for the planned Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Md., and President Bush appeared ready to paper over remaining differences between the two sides with his planned speech on Tuesday.

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November 26th

The Washington Post examines the challenges facing President Bush as he frames the Annapolis meeting in the context of a battle for the future of the Middle East against extremist forces (2.) An Orlando Sentinel opinion by ATFP executive director Rafi Dajani identifies realistic and achievable objectives for the Annapolis meeting in the context of establishing a Palestinian state (3.) McClatchy Newspapers analyzes the four main issues of Jerusalem, borders, refugees and security dividing Israelis and Palestinians (5.) In the New York Review of Books, senior Council on Foreign Relations fellow Henry Siegman identifies Israeli reluctance to define the contours of a future Palestinian state as the main obstacle to peace and warns of the consequences of a failure at Annapolis (6.) A Financial Times (UK) opinion by Gideon Rachman weights the opportunities and challenges for the Annapolis meeting and beyond while stressing the critical role of the U.S. in a future settlement (9.) A Telegraph (UK) opinion by Tim Butcher stresses the importance of political will by Israelis, Palestinians and the U.S. in reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace the parameters of which are well known (11.) A Gulf News (UAE) opinion by Linda Heard addresses the implications of a future shift in Israel's demography on the country's future (13.) In Haaretz (Israel). Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner touches on the three main points of the just-issued Annapolis 'joint declaration' (14.)

The Price Of Arab Inclusion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) November 26, 2007 - 1:08pm

U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice can chalk up an important achievement with the Annapolis summit that begins tomorrow: The Arab countries acceded to the American request and are taking part in the conference with a high profile, let alone taking part. Foreign ministers and not ambassadors will represent them. This decision's significance goes beyond Arab backing for the Palestinians, or a pat on the back for the American president, whose stature is eroding greatly in the region.

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No Such Thing As A Free Summit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) November 26, 2007 - 1:06pm

It is true that, to date, U.S. President George W. Bush has not exhibited a great deal of wisdom in his dealings with the Middle East. But it hard to believe that the leader of the superpower and his aides do not recognize the risk they have taken by holding the Annapolis summit. One doesn't have to be Henry Kissinger to appreciate that the summit cannot end in nothing - zero. The size of the achievement, or the depth of the failure, will be proportional to the delegation level in attendance and the number of hours of TV broadcasts, mostly to the Arab world.

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Bush Might Fail At Annapolis, But Give Him Credit For Trying
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) November 26, 2007 - 1:04pm

Many flaws have been identified in the organization of the Middle East peace conference this week at Annapolis, in the US state of Maryland. Arab officials, in particular, harbor deep-seated fears that their participation may be used as cover for a gathering that fails to achieve anything of substance toward settling the dispute at the core of the region's troubles, that between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

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High-stake Meet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) November 26, 2007 - 1:02pm

President Bush probably saved his blushes when announcing that the Arab-Israeli conflict would not be solved in a day and a night at Annapolis, but that a full year would be needed — basically the rest of his term — for the US to try to broker a peace. Washington hopes that the two sides work toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state before Bush leaves office and that the negotiations will be launched at the conference in Annapolis.

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Defiant Hamas Rules By Fear In Isolated Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Marie Colvin - November 26, 2007 - 1:00pm

The nights in Gaza belong to the Izzedine al-Qassam brigades. On potholed streets in the border city of Rafah last week, disciplined rows of fighters bristling with guns and rocket launchers listened to a midnight pep talk from their commander before melting into the darkness. The militia that was once the underground military wing of Hamas, the Islamic extremist organisation, has become a feared unofficial army controlling this isolated strip of Palestinian territory.

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