November 20th

Israel Setting Tone For Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Abraham Rabinovich - November 20, 2007 - 1:37pm

Israeli leaders have taken to using a new phrase loaded with hidden meaning ahead of a proposed conference this month in Annapolis — "two states for two peoples." The phrase is a variation on the Bush administration's repeated calls for a "two-state solution," which implies Israel's abandonment of the notion of a Greater Israel that incorporates the West Bank and the Palestinians' abandonment of any notion of destroying Israel.

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Invites Set For Mideast Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Anne Gearan, Matthew Lee - November 20, 2007 - 1:34pm

The United States plans to issue as early as Tuesday official invitations to a much-anticipated Middle East conference, to be held next week at Annapolis, Md., hoping for strong backing from a select group of Arab nations for the U.S. effort to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

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November 19th

The Washington Times looks at how Israeli leaders are reformulating the 'two-state' language to send out a political message before the Annapolis meeting regarding the Palestinian refugees and the nature of the Israeli state (2.) The Washington Post weighs the chances that the limited Palestinian prisoner release and the partial Israeli settlement freeze announcements will induce key Arab states to commit to attending the Annapolis meeting (4.) The Christian Science Monitor reports on how the breakdown of law and order in the occupied territories has reflected on the phenomenon of 'honor' killings (6.) The Forward looks at the division of labor over security in Nablus between the Palestinian police and the Israeli army (8.) A Jewish Telegraphic Agency opinion by Americans For Peace Now spokesperson Ori Nir ponders the absence of mainstream organized Jewish american support for the Annapolis meeting and Israeli-Palestinian peace (9.) The Independent (UK) examines continuing efforts to hammer out a joint Israeli-Palestinian declaration at Annapolis in the face of serious differences over the language (11.) BBC (UK) examines the Annapolis meeting will meet the fate of past failed meetings (13.) In BitterLemons (Israel/Palestine) former Palestinian minister of planning Ghassan Khatib is critical to the reference to the Roadmap regarding the Annapolis meeting, in light of the failure of both parties in the past to implement the agreement's responsibilities (15.) In his Haaretz (Israel) blog, Shmuel Rosner takes a close look at the results of the ADL survey on American attitudes to Israelis and Palestinians (16.)

The Leadership Vacuum In Washington
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by David Dumke - November 19, 2007 - 4:44pm

Barring a major development, the situation in the “Greater Middle East” — defined by the Bush administration as the vast region from Morocco to Pakistan — will continue to play itself out with minimal US involvement until the inauguration of a new US president in January 2009. The weakness of President Bush both at home and abroad comes at a troubling time when international leadership is direly needed to prevent the further deterioration, which could have catastrophic, lasting consequences for the region.

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Don't Play Fatah Off Against Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - November 19, 2007 - 4:43pm

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call Thursday for the Hamas "gang" to be ousted from Gaza is understandable, but misguided. Hamas are no angels, and their police's shooting of seven Palestinian demonstrators from Abbas' Fatah faction earlier this week during a pro-Fatah rally in Gaza is the sort of act that blackens their name. Yet for Abbas to refer to Hamas as a "gang" and ask for their ouster is only going to worsen the tensions between Palestinians, at a time when precisely the opposite is required.

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What Do You Mean When You Say 'no'?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - November 19, 2007 - 4:42pm

A festive day for peace: Israel is planning to announce a freeze on construction in the settlements as compensation for refusing to discuss the core issues. The Palestinians are ecstatic at all the good-will gestures Israel is throwing their way. First came the release of prisoners, now a freeze on construction, and the prime minister has already spoken with the settler leaders and informed them of the decision. They said it was a "difficult meeting," as it always is, winking at each other deviously.

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Blair Unveils Palestinian Schemes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
November 19, 2007 - 4:41pm

The envoy of the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators, Tony Blair, has announced a series of economic projects to help boost the Palestinian economy. Mr Blair unveiled four major projects, including a sewage treatment plant in Gaza, an industrial park in Jericho and an industrial zone in Hebron. The former UK prime minister warned that without the hope of prosperity, politics would never succeed. His announcement comes a week before a peace conference in the US.

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Peace Is Possible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ian Black - (Special Report) November 19, 2007 - 4:40pm

Like so many Palestinians of his generation, Sari Nusseibeh looks back at years of struggle that have achieved precious little. His entire adult life has been spent in the shadow of conflict with Israel and it is difficult to find even a glimmer of optimism that it is going to be resolved any time soon.

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Race To Clear Air For Mideast Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck, Daniel Dombey - November 19, 2007 - 4:38pm

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators face intense diplomatic activity this week in an attempt to bridge differences ahead of a US-sponsored peace meeting intended to bring an end to six decades of conflict. In an early reminder of the obstacles in their way, the two sides are struggling to draft a joint statement that would form the basis for the meeting at Annapolis and for later talks.

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A History Of Nonviolence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The American Prospect
by Matthew Duss - November 19, 2007 - 4:34pm

Naim Ateek had just turned 11 when forces of the Haganah, the pre-Israel Zionist paramilitary organization, occupied his village of Beisan in Palestine. Days later, the villagers were informed that they were to be "evacuated," forcibly moved off land that Palestine's Jewish minority now claimed for its own state.

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