November 27th, 2007

Gaza Fears Israeli Push To Smash Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald Macintyre - November 27, 2007 - 1:40pm Big Israeli armoured bulldozers, guarded by a stationary escort of tanks and armoured personnel carriers half-hidden in the adjacent sandbanks, were operating all along the exposed walk south on the Palestinian side of the hi-tech Erez terminal separating Gaza from Israel yesterday. » Read more

Annapolis And A History Of Abject Failure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Gideon Rachman - (Commentary) November 27, 2007 - 1:39pm Last time I visited Jerusalem, I sat down with a colleague and tried to see how many Middle East peace plans and conferences we could list. Within a couple of minutes we had scribbled down Venice, Madrid, Oslo, Camp David I, Camp David II, Taba, the Rogers plan, the Annan plan, the Reagan plan, the Tenet plan, the Saudi plan, the Mitchell report, the Geneva accord and the road map. I have lost the beer mat on which I was keeping the minutes of our discussions – so I apologise if I have missed some out. But you get the general point. The record is not encouraging. » Read more

Backers, Opponents Of Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - November 27, 2007 - 1:38pm It's the one major Muslim nation not on the invitation list for the upcoming U.S.-convened peace parley, yet it will haunt every discussion. Iran's importance to the Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in Annapolis, Md., was underscored by how the subject of Iran seeped into two recent Washington think-tank sessions on the talks -- one casting the renewed peace push as a means toward limiting Iran's influence, the other framing it as a gift to the Islamic Republic's plan for regional domination. » Read more

Bush's Big Moment In Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Zev Chafets - (Opinion) November 27, 2007 - 1:37pm THE MIDDLE EAST peace conference convened by the United States in Annapolis, Md., may or may not move the Israeli-Arab conflict closer to resolution (my money is on "may not"). But, whatever happens, there is already one winner: George W. Bush. This is Bush's bash. His name is on the invitation. The party is at his place. The guests are strictly A-list. Every » Read more

Annapolis: The Cost Of Failure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Review Of Books by Henry Siegman - (Opinion) November 27, 2007 - 1:36pm One of the first on-line responses to the publication of the letter to President George W. » Read more

4 Main Issues That Divide Israel, Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News by Dion Nissenbaum - November 27, 2007 - 1:35pm The clock is winding down on yet another U.S. president who's trying to broker an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has outlasted 10 of his predecessors and will be 60 years old on May 14, Israel's 60th birthday. The Bush administration has left the issue on the back burner for six years to concentrate on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has now invited Arab, Israeli and world leaders for a day of Middle East peace talks in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday. » Read more

In Annapolis, Conflict By Other Means ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Report by Robert Blecher , Mouin Rabbani - November 27, 2007 - 1:33pm At an intersection in front of Nablus city hall, a pair of women threaded a knot of waiting pedestrians, glanced left, then dashed across the street. “What’s this?” an onlooker chastised them. “Can’t you see the red light?” Not long after, his patience exhausted, the self-appointed traffic cop himself stepped off the curb and made his way to the other side of the boulevard. » Read more

Beyond Cynicism, Reason For Real Hope ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Orlando Sentinel by Rafi Dajani - (Special Report) November 27, 2007 - 1:29pm Few events in Mideast peacemaking history have been subjected to as much cynicism as today's Annapolis meeting. This is due to the perceived lack of planning in the lead-up to the meeting, mismanagement of expectations, and the reported gaps between Israelis and Palestinians over the text of a joint declaration at the meeting's conclusion. » Read more

Bush: 'battle Is Underway For The Future' Of Mideast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Michael Abramowitz, Glenn Kessler - November 27, 2007 - 1:25pm Opening a Middle East peace conference in Annapolis this morning, President Bush said that peace must be pursued because "a battle is underway for the future" of the region "and we must not cede victory to the extremists." » Read more

Israelis And Palestinians Try To Set Pace For Peace Talks As Bush Plans Speech ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Helene Cooper, Steven Erlanger - November 27, 2007 - 1:24pm Israeli and Palestinian negotiators made progress on Monday toward completing a joint statement for the planned Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Md., and President Bush appeared ready to paper over remaining differences between the two sides with his planned speech on Tuesday. » Read more