November 5th, 2007

In Mideast, Rice Pushes Annapolis Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Karen Deyoung - November 5, 2007 - 2:23pm

Israel is ready to put "all basic questions, all the substantive problems, all the historical questions" about Palestinian statehood on the table in a U.S.-hosted peace conference later this month in Annapolis, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday. "It is time," Olmert said in an impassioned speech. "All questions are on the agenda. We won't run away from any of them."

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Carter's Clarity, Bush's Befuddlement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Robert Novak - (Opinion) November 5, 2007 - 2:22pm

The timing of the release of the new documentary "Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains" was not intentional. The movie is arriving in theaters just before the Bush administration's proposed Middle East conference in Annapolis, scheduled for the end of this month. But the former president's clarity on the Palestinian question contrasts sharply with George W. Bush's refusal to face reality, casting a pall over hopes to conclude his presidency with a diplomatic triumph.

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Olmert Backs Mideast Peace Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper - November 5, 2007 - 2:19pm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel issued his strongest and most vocal support yet on Sunday for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s efforts to forge a Middle East peace plan, raising the possibility of making peace with the Palestinians before the conclusion of the Bush administration.

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That Promised Peace Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) November 5, 2007 - 2:18pm

One month before President Bush’s Mideast peace conference — the administration’s first serious effort in six years — it’s still not clear what will be on the agenda or who, beyond the Americans, Israelis and Palestinians, will show up. Even the date is still up in the air.

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November 4th

A New York Times editorial stresses the need for serious and sustained U.S. engagement at the Annapolis meeting and beyond if there is to be any chance of an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement (1.) A Washington Post opinion by Robert Novak contrasts the former President Carter's 'clarity' on the Palestinian issue with that of President Bush and Congress (3.) The Christian Science Monitor examines how the deployment of Palestinian police in Nablus is a test of the ability of the Palestinian president and could bolster his position in upcoming talks with Israelis (5.) The Guardian (UK) reports on the campaign by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to prevent clerics affiliated with Hamas from preaching dissent at West Bank mosques (8.) The Independent (UK) reports from Nablus on reaction to the deployment of PA forces in an effort to improve security (10.) A Gulf News (UAE) editorial urges that the upcoming Annapolis meeting address the 'core issues' if there is to be any serious progress towards peace (11.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Akiva Eldar makes the case for a nuclear-free Middle East (12.)

November 2nd

The Enemy Within
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by David Kimche - (Opinion) November 2, 2007 - 5:20pm

Our worst enemies do not live in Ramallah, nor even in Gaza. No, they can be found in Tel Aviv, in Jerusalem, in Haifa. They live in our midst. They are motivated by greed, by avarice. They wear expensive suits, don the latest in ties. The high cost lawyer with, oh, such refined cultural taste who swindled tens of millions of dollars from Holocaust survivors without batting an eyelid, is one of them. In my book he rates high up, at the top of the list of the worst of the worst.

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Pa Infighting / Blood Brothers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) November 2, 2007 - 5:13pm

The Palestinian organizations responsible for the massive firing of Qassam rockets and mortar rounds at Israel over the past few days may harbor hostility toward one another, but they share a common goal: Dragging Israel into a massive activity in the Gaza Strip. Yesterday, it was the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades that fired a heavy salvo of rockets at Sderot. But despite their affiliation, the men who launched the rockets are not taking orders from Fatah chief and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

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Disorder In The Ranks Of Hamas?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah
by Caelum Moffatt - (Opinion) November 2, 2007 - 5:10pm

Last Sunday, Hamas government spokesperson, Ghazi Hamad, was alleged to have issued a five page letter in which he criticized and questioned Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip in June. The former editor-in-chief of the Hamas-affiliated weekly Al-Risala has denied the letter’s existence in which he ostensibly declared that the events in June, which resulted in the current duopoly of Palestine, was a “serious strategic mistake that burdened the movement more than it can bear”.

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Lessons From The Failed Peace Talks At Camp David
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Moshe Amirav - (Opinion) November 2, 2007 - 5:05pm

This month US President George W. Bush proposes to host an international conference in Annapolis, near Washington, in the hope of advancing a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. The failures of previous attempts - in Madrid in 1991, in Oslo in 1993 and at Camp David in 2000 - highlight the difficulties. What have we learned from these failures to suggest that the same errors in judgment will recur?

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Us Hopes Iran Fears Will Prod Progress At Mideast Peace Meet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
November 2, 2007 - 4:56pm

The United States hopes it can translate mounting concerns about Iran’s strength into progress in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, officials and observers say. Publicly, State Department officials strain to downplay expectations for the conference expected before year’s end in scenic Annapolis, Maryland, near Washington. Privately, they are aglow with an optimism that clashes head-on with the pessimism many Arab leaders have voiced.

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