November 22nd

Proceed Steadily But Firmly ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah by Caelum Moffatt - November 22, 2007 - 10:41pm After seven years of stalled negotiations between Israel and Palestine, one could possibly not presume that all problems would be solved by one summit, let alone a summit that had been penciled in just as the two old enemies had reconvened dialogue. » Read more

Reinventing The Mideast Wheel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) November 22, 2007 - 10:40pm It is infuriating when one spends hours reviewing all the give-and-take about the perfunctory meeting in Annapolis next week to kick-start Palestinian-Israeli negotiations for a final settlement only to realise that one does not need to reinvent the wheel. All that needs to be done is there and has been available for more than 40 years! » Read more

The Measure Of Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Lorna Fitzsimons - (Commentary) November 22, 2007 - 10:38pm Jerusalem is buzzing with activity. There is anxious speculation about the status of the joint Israeli-Palestinian declaration intended to be the centrepiece of next week's meeting in Annapolis, Maryland. Israel has announced a settlement freeze, the Palestinians are deploying troops in Nablus. With the invitations now finally issued, eyes are on who will attend - and at what level. Visiting dignitaries are doing the rounds, keen to avoid failure by showing their support. The Israeli-Palestinian peace circus is back in town. » Read more

Analysis: The Possibilities Of Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News by Jeremy Bowen - (Opinion) November 22, 2007 - 10:36pm The other day in Washington a colleague of mine asked the White House press secretary what journalists should call the Middle Eastern event that is about to happen in Annapolis. The press secretary did not offer any advice. An aide suggested "get together". Maybe the aide was being mischievous. But words like summit or peace conference are being discouraged. Expectations for the meeting in Annapolis are being minimised. If you want to be right about the Middle East, it usually pays to be pessimistic. » Read more

Palestinians Spell Out Their Vision Of The Future In Peace Blueprint ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald Macintyre - November 22, 2007 - 10:34pm Sweeping security, fiscal and political reforms are promised in the most detailed blueprint for the creation of a Palestinian state yet drawn up by the emergency government headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayad. » Read more

Likudnik Hawks Work To Undermine Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Jim Lobe - November 22, 2007 - 10:32pm Despite near-universal scepticism about the prospects for launching a serious, new Middle East peace process at next week's Israeli-Palestinian summit in Annapolis, a familiar clutch of neo-conservative hawks close to the Likud Party leader, former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, isn't taking any chances. » Read more

How Rice Can Improve Her Odds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Daniel Kurtzer - November 22, 2007 - 10:31pm Condoleezza Rice is playing a high-stakes game of diplomacy. After cautious bets during her first three years as secretary of state, she is going all-in on a summit meeting at Annapolis to launch final status negotiations. Her odds of winning are low, and she knows it. But those odds can start moving in her favor if she draws the right lessons from U.S. diplomatic experience in the Israeli-Arab peace process. Having led a study group on this for the past year, the results of which the United States Institute of Peace will soon publish, we can offer the following tips: » Read more

If Annapolis Fails, What Then? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Leslie Susser - (Opinion) November 22, 2007 - 10:27pm Days away from the Annapolis peace parley, the glaring weaknesses of both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are raising significant questions about the long-term viability of the renewed peace process and the consequences of failure. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who may have wanted to use the conference as a dramatic breakthrough in peacemaking with the Palestinians, finds his hands tied by hawks in his coalition government. » Read more

Israel Prodded Into Settlement Freeze In Bid To Kick-start Peace Conference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - November 22, 2007 - 10:26pm With only days remaining before a peace summit scheduled for next week in Annapolis, Md., the Bush administration is pressuring Israel to take significant steps to curb settlement expansion in the West Bank. » Read more

Rice Defends Mideast Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Helene Cooper - November 22, 2007 - 10:23pm The Bush administration’s Annapolis, Md., conference on Middle East peace will tackle the entrenched core issues that have bedeviled negotiators since 1979, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday, pushing back against critics who say the conference may be just a photo opportunity. She said that she would try to broker a deal by the end of the Bush administration that would lead to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. She cautioned that there was no guarantee that she would be successful, but maintained that she knew what she was doing. » Read more