November 15th

Palestinian Security Paradox
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by David Ignatius - (Opinion) November 15, 2007 - 6:20pm

Here's a safe prediction in advance of the Annapolis peace conference scheduled to take place in a few weeks: The Palestinians won't be ready to fulfill their obligation to provide security in the West Bank under the "road map to peace." The Palestinian Authority simply doesn't have the people, the training or the equipment to maintain order in the territories.

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Palestinians Begin Rebuilding Symbols Of Authority
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Wael Al-ahmed, Adam Entous - November 15, 2007 - 6:17pm

Work crews are laying foundations for a Palestinian state, clearing away the twisted ruins of government compounds destroyed by Israel to start a major rebuilding campaign. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's plan calls for rebuilding eight muqatas -- Arabic for headquarters -- and other administrative buildings flattened by Israel across the occupied West Bank after the start of a Palestinian uprising in 2000.

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Fear Of Hamas Looms Over Statehood Bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Week
by Stewart Ain - November 15, 2007 - 6:15pm

The bloody end to a massive rally in Gaza Monday marking the third anniversary of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat’s death is seen as underscoring the disunity of the Palestinian people whose aspirations for their own state are proving more and more elusive.

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Israelis Press Plan To Block The Division Of Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - November 15, 2007 - 6:13pm

The Israeli Parliament gave preliminary approval on Wednesday to a bill intended to hinder any division of Jerusalem in a future deal with the Palestinians. The vote came as Israel’s rightist and religious parties started positioning themselves before an American-sponsored peace gathering expected to take place in Annapolis, Md., this month. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he plans to negotiate with the Palestinians after Annapolis on the core issues relating to a two-state solution, including security issues, borders, refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

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Hamas To Curb Press, Gatherings In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Sarah El Deeb - November 15, 2007 - 6:12pm

Gaza's Hamas rulers issued an edict Wednesday banning journalists from working in the coastal strip unless they submit to sweeping press restrictions, and it said it would soon impose new restraints on public gatherings. The moves, which follow the arrests of hundreds of opposition activists, appeared to be part of an intensifying clampdown after the Islamic militant group was confronted with a mass demonstration called by the rival Fatah movement that led to violence.

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November 14th

The New York Times looks at attempts within the Israeli Knesset to pass a bill making the return of occupied East Jerusalem to the Palestinians more difficult (2.) Reuters reports on Palestinian rebuilding of government administrative buildings in the West Bank as a symbols of authority (4.) A Washington Post opinion by David Ignatius urges Israel and the U.S. to give the Palestinians the capacity to establish security and to allow them to do so, otherwise any achievements at Annapolis will be frustrated (5.) A Baltimore Sun editorial stresses the importance of Palestinian unity and the addressing of the Hamas issue if a peace agreement with Israel is to be successful (6.) The Forward looks at the push by the Bush administration to get the organized mainstream Jewish-American community to support the Annapolis meeting (8.) The Guardian (UK) reports on Palestinian hopes that a one year timetable will be set to secure a peace agreement with Israel (10.) A Jordan Times (Jordan) editorial urges the rise of a 'third political faction' among Palestinians weary with Fatah and Hamas (12.) A Haaretz (Israel) editorial is critical of the Israeli demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as a 'Jewish state' (14.)

Asharq Al-awsat Interviews Mahmud Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Ali El-saleh - (Interview) November 14, 2007 - 1:12pm

[Asharq Al-Awsat] Following your meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, you spoke with a sign of optimism. Was there a breakthrough that you did not disclose?

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Subversion Is No Way For America To Make Friends In The Islamic World
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) November 14, 2007 - 1:10pm

A recent commentary by Robert Satloff - executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), the pre-eminent pro-Israel think tank - acknowledges a small part of what has gone wrong with US policy on the Middle East. Unfortunately the article, which appeared in the Washington Post, recommends remedies that promise only to make matters worse.

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More Than Words Needed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Susie Becher - (Opinion) November 14, 2007 - 1:08pm

Hardly a day goes by without some new twist in the preparations for the Annapolis conference, and speculation is rife on whether it will end in success or failure. The Israeli prime minister is trying to lower expectations, emphasizing that it is not a peace conference but a starting point for negotiations toward a peace accord. The Palestinian president has his eye on the day after Annapolis, pushing for a time limit on the negotiations that will follow the event. The truth is that the summit itself cannot fail, because nothing will be left to chance.

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Are Two States Still Viable?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Seth Anziska - (Opinion) November 14, 2007 - 1:05pm

Oxford dons were reeling at their high table dinners late last month, in the wake of a startling controversy over the Middle East. A debate at the Oxford Union on the motion "This house believes that one state is the only solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict" was compromised by external political pressure, generating serious concerns about academic freedom and the principles of free speech.

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