November 30th, 2007

Disdain On Both Sides Of Security Barrier
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck - November 30, 2007 - 5:23pm

Gilo, a Jewish suburb south of Jerusalem, forms one of the countless frontlines in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Perched on a hilltop the quiet residential area was built on occupied land after the 1967 war and now lies just a few hundred metres from the Palestinian village of Beit Jala.

»

All Options Open Against Israel After Peace Meet: Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
November 30, 2007 - 5:14pm

Hamas warned on Thursday that all options were open for the Islamists against Israel after a US conference that revived peace talks and five days in which troops had killed 12 militants in Gaza. "All options are open to answer any crime, expecially after the Annapolis conference, which gave the Zionists a green light to commit more and more crimes against our people," said a statement from the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing.

»

After Annapolis, Abbas Faces Hamas Challenge
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Mohammed Assadi And Adam Entous - (Analysis) November 30, 2007 - 5:09pm

A U.S.-backed push for a future Palestinian state hinges on President Mahmoud Abbas doing what may seem impossible -- getting Hamas Islamists to give up the Gaza Strip and disarm. Abbas has done little to explain how he expects to achieve such a feat, either through new elections or militarily. He and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert launched their peoples' first formal peace talks in seven years this week with the goal of forging a deal next year to create a state in Gaza and the West Bank, together home to 4 million Palestinians.

»

When The Party’s Over: From Annapolis To Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by Sadie Goldman With Jason Proetorius And Ipf Staff - (Opinion) November 30, 2007 - 4:57pm

The only certainty at the outset of the Annapolis conference on Tuesday was that few predicted positive results.  

»

Why Annapolis Worked
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) November 30, 2007 - 4:54pm

In the end, the Annapolis peace conference proved to be far less than the cataclysmic, watershed event that its sharpest critics had predicted. It unfolded, to everyone’s surprise, with very little upheaval. And for that reason, it might yet turn out to be far more than the pointless flop anticipated by the world-weary wise men.

»

Summit Surpasses Low Expectations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
(Editorial) November 30, 2007 - 4:52pm

It started out like an office party that no one wanted to attend. Everyone felt obliged to put in an appearance in Annapolis, even though the first Middle East confab in six years wasn't billed as a peace conference, a forum for negotiation or, really, much more than a photo-op. Yet once the leaders were all there, with the TV cameras pouring an intoxicating adrenaline cocktail, the pressure to be seen to do something about the seminal conflict of our time couldn't be ignored.

»

A Payoff For Syrians: Seats At The Table, At Least
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper - November 30, 2007 - 4:51pm

For almost three years, Syria has been in the diplomatic doghouse, shunned by the United States, disrespected by France, bombed by Israel and even scolded by its fellow Arab governments for cozying up to Iran. But now, in the post-Annapolis let’s-make-peace-in-the-Middle-East world, the kitchen door may have cracked slightly open to allow Syria back in the house.

»

November 29th

The New York Times examines the changing attitudes towards Syria by the U.S. in light of Syrian attendance at Annapolis (1.) A Forward editorial draws hope for the future from the Annapolis meeting (3.) Reuters looks at the post-Annapolis challenges facing Palestinian president Abbas in terms of the question of Hamas (5.) The Guardian reports on frank statements by Israeli PM Olmert linking Israel's future survival with the two-state solution (8.) An Economist (UK) editorial is critical of President Bush for not offering more detail of his vision for a Palestinian state at Annapolis (9.) A Daily Star (Lebanon) opinion by Brandeis University visiting senior fellow and Palestinian economist Mohammed Samhouri stresses the importance of movement on the political front in facilitating Palestinian economic and development reform (11.) A Khaleej Times (UAE) opinion by Claude Salhani emphasizes the need for serious U.S. engagement and for both Israelis and Palestinians to compromise if Annapolis will result in success (12.) An Asharq Alawsat (pan Arab) opinion by editor-in-chief Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed argues that current peacemaking efforts hinge on President Bush (13.) A Haaretz (Israel) editorial draws a link between the Israeli settlement project and increasing parallels between Israel and South African apartheid (14.) In a Jerusalem Post (Israel) opinion, Israeli government minister Ami Ayalon sees the significance of Annapolis as being a critical juncture between the diminishing or strengthening of Hamas (16.)

Olmert To Haaretz: Two-state Solution, Or Israel Is Done For
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn, David Landau, Barak Ravid, Shmuel Rosner - November 29, 2007 - 5:11pm

"If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights (also for the Palestinians in the territories), then, as soon as that happens, the State of Israel is finished," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Haaretz Wednesday, the day the Annapolis conference ended in an agreement to try to reach a Mideast peace settlement by the end of 2008.

»

Peace Talks Are Likely To Fail, Just As The 'road Map' Did
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) November 29, 2007 - 5:09pm

The Annapolis conference on Tuesday was full of lofty rhetoric, intriguing new promises, a few bold commitments, and a tantalizing cast of characters - alongside plenty of rehashed rhetoric, rigid positions, and regurgitated, failed diplomatic mechanisms. It left us with as many questions as answers about whether this was a serious Arab-Israeli peace-making endeavor, or a hoax garnished with Chesapeake Bay clam cakes.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017