November 28th, 2007

Keep The Cynics At Bay ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Daniel Levy - (Commentary) November 28, 2007 - 4:02pm Theories abound as to why an Annapolis conference and why now. Jerry Seinfeld would be excused for thinking that this is all a personal conspiracy against him - his visit to Israel was dominating the headlines until Annapolis came along. In fact some in the Israeli media have been drawing a rather unflattering analogy: the Annapolis conference resembles a Seinfeld episode - it's about nothing. Yada yada yada. » Read more

Annapolis: The End Of The Beginning ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News by Paul Reynolds - November 28, 2007 - 4:00pm That was the easy bit. Now for the hard work. All the old unresolved issues have to be tackled - the borders of Israel and the new state of Palestine, Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, Palestinian refugees. A pessimist, a realist maybe, can look at the target date for an agreement - December 2008, the end of the Bush presidency - and say that the agenda is too large and the room for manoeuvre too little for success to be likely, let alone assured. The concept is to create a critical mass of opinion that will enable the centre ground to be held. » Read more

Us Turns To ‘coalition Of The Moderate’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Daniel Dombey - November 28, 2007 - 3:58pm As almost 50 delegations assembled for the Annapolis conference on Tuesday, one question stood out. Why was the Bush administration, which had once scorned Bill Clinton’s efforts to broker Middle East peace, risking a high-profile attempt of its own, despite near to rock bottom expectations? “You can make the case that in an attempt to shoot the moon and get nothing, more violence resulted,” Ari Fleischer, then President George W. Bush’s spokesman, said in 2002 of Mr Clinton’s Camp David negotiations two years before. » Read more

The Major Breakthrough: Bush Agrees To Arbiter Role ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - November 28, 2007 - 3:56pm The most striking concession to emerge from the Palestinian-Israeli talks this week came neither from the Israelis nor the Palestinians, but from the Bush administration. The United States agreed to become the sole arbiter of peace agreements between the sides -- not only an about-face from a seven-year policy of "let the sides duke it out," but an unprecedented venture into waters even the hyper-involved President Clinton feared to enter. » Read more

Israel, P.a. Agree To Strive For Accord By End Of 2008 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Barak Ravid - November 28, 2007 - 3:55pm Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed Tuesday to immediately launch peace negotiations in order to reach an agreement by the end of 2008, President Bush said in his remarks at the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland. Prior to his prepared address, Bush read a joint statement agreed on by the sides during last-minute negotiations at the summit. » Read more

Annapolis: A View From Amman ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Open Democracy by El Hassan Bin Talal - (Commentary) November 28, 2007 - 3:52pm The middle-east conference to be convened in Annapolis, Maryland on 27 November 2007 must, if it is to be effective, be conceived as a return to a peace-building process whose objective is to realise a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian impasse. » Read more

After Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe (Editorial) November 28, 2007 - 3:46pm No document with principles for a peace accord was signed yesterday in Annapolis, Md., where envoys from 46 countries joined Israeli and Palestinian leaders and President Bush at a gathering meant to launch negotiations on a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. So the Annapolis event can only be judged by what follows it. If yesterday's meeting is to become something more than another missed opportunity for Mideast peace, Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans will have to persevere until they forge a just and durable peace agreement. » Read more

The Syrian Peace Track ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun (Editorial) November 28, 2007 - 3:43pm Getting representatives from at least a dozen Arab countries to Annapolis today for President Bush's Middle East summit was no small feat considering America's reputation in the region and the unlikely prospect of substantive change in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could advance the peace agenda - and her diplomatic credentials - if she secures Syria's involvement in the process beyond the one-day meeting. » Read more

History, Mistrust Hobble Mideast Leaders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Richard Bourdreaux - November 28, 2007 - 3:39pm The peace talks launched by the Israeli and Palestinian leaders Tuesday face a daunting array of obstacles. They will be overseen by two men who are weakened by extremists at home and speak for peoples whose attitudes toward each other have hardened since the last effort collapsed nearly seven years ago. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, controls only part of his would-be state. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition government faces a threatened walkout by right-wing parties that could bring it down. » Read more

Practical Steps Beyond Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Center For Strategic & International Studies by Haim Malka - (Commentary) November 28, 2007 - 3:37pm Israeli and Palestinian leaders seeking to resolve their differences in Annapolis may as well meet on the moon. Beyond the wide gaps on the core issues, the Annapolis framework ignores the harsh reality that Hamas is shut out of the process while poised to violently derail the entire effort. It is based on wishful thinking that so-called moderate Palestinian forces will be strong enough to overpower hardliners and enforce a final agreement. Though it has positive elements, the strategy is likely to fail. But progress is possible, and still within reach. » Read more