November 2nd, 2007

Saudis Signal Doubts Over Middle East Peace Talks Called By Us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ian Black - November 2, 2007 - 4:54pm

Saudi Arabia has signalled that it will not attend the Middle East peace conference scheduled by the US for this month unless there is significant agreement in advance on the core issues that divide Israelis and Palestinians. But Prince Saud al-Faisal, the foreign minister, also held out a vision of normalisation between the Arab world and Israel - "not just the absence of war" - if the conflict could be resolved.

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For Israel’s Sake, Replace Politics Of Either/or With Both/and
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) November 2, 2007 - 4:53pm

Dualism is built into us — perhaps part of our neural make up, surely part of our cultural inheritance: light/dark, war/peace, hot/cold, wet/dry, joy/sorrow. Fortunately, we know that there’s a continuum between the antipodes, that things can sometimes be neither hot nor cold but simply lukewarm, neither wet nor dry but simply moist. And in truth, we often find ourselves, whether by choice or perforce, at a place along the continuum.

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We Aren’t One: American Jewish Voices For Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Lewrockwell.com
by Murray Polner - (Opinion) November 2, 2007 - 4:49pm

Back in the 1980s the major American Jewish welfare organization adopted as its fundraising slogan "We are One." The implication was that American Jews were a united bloc. But we are not "one" and never have been. Ideologically, we are everything from anarchists to Zionists, working people to the gilded rich. Noam Chomsky is as Jewish as Irving Kristol, and Norman Finkelstein as Jewish as Alan Dershowitz. We are neither angels nor saints.

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Sderot & Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) November 2, 2007 - 4:46pm

The terrorist shelling of Sderot and other towns and villages neighboring Gaza has to stop, but the policies Israel has adopted to achieve that goal will not do the job.  The most significant thing to know about the shelling is that Sderot is in Israel itself—not in the occupied territories. Accordingly, it is ridiculous to refer to the attacks as representing “resistance” unless, of course, the resistance is to the existence of Israel and not the occupation. In the case of Sderot, and neighboring towns, it clearly is.

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Abizaid: Mideast Wars May Last 50 Years
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
November 2, 2007 - 4:44pm

It might take as long as half a century before U.S. troops can leave the volatile Middle East, according to retired Army Gen. John Abizaid.

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Abbas Holds Rare Meeting With Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Dalia Nammari - November 2, 2007 - 4:42pm

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with members of Hamas on Friday for the first time since the militant group ousted his forces and took over the Gaza Strip in June. Abbas' aides described the meeting with four West Bank-based Hamas members as an informal gathering after Friday prayers at Abbas' presidential compound, saying it was not an official contact between the two movements. Abbas has repeatedly said he would have no contact with Hamas until it cedes power in Gaza. But one of the Hamas men, Hussein Abu Quaik, said Abbas invited them to prayers.

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Palestinian Force Enters Nablus In Security Drive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Atef Saad - November 2, 2007 - 4:40pm

Hundreds of Palestinian security officers arrived in Nablus on Friday in the first stage of a Western-backed drive to crack down on gunmen in the occupied West Bank ahead of a peace conference with Israel. Israel, which is trying to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas against his Hamas rivals, approved the deployment in the flashpoint West Bank city. Israeli government spokesman David Baker said the move would improve security and could be repeated elsewhere in the West Bank if it worked well.

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November 1st

Reuters reports on the new Palestinian security drive in the occupied territories starting with the town of Nablus (1.) In Israel Policy Forum, MJ Rosenberg is critical of Palestinian rocket attacks out of Gaza into southern Israel, yet takes issue with Israel's strategy in preventing them (4.) A Forward opinion by Leonard Fein rejects the proposition that addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict necessitates choosing sides (6.) A Daily Star opinion by Israeli professor Moshe Amirav, published in collaboration with Common Ground News Service, draws lessons from the failed 2000 Camp David summit for the upcoming Annapolis meeting (9.) In Miftah (Palestine) Caelum Moffatt analyzes the latest signs of disunity within the ranks of Hamas over their military takeover of Gaza and their current policies (10.) A Jerusalem Post (Israel) opinion by David Kimche takes Israelis to task for their growing apathy and inwardness (12.)

You Can Learn It In A Negotiations Course
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - November 1, 2007 - 2:49pm

It is not easy to discuss the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in a practical manner, without past grudges. Too many emotions, historical memories and political interests are involved, turning every discussion of a solution to the conflict into a slogan contest: "diplomatic horizon," "partition of Jerusalem," "right of return."

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Reaping The Occupation's Fruit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - November 1, 2007 - 2:48pm

If the plot of land belonging to Dr. Salam Fayad, the Palestinian prime minister, were located 50 meters west of its present location, in the level part of the village of Deir al-Ghusun, it would now be growing thorns and thistles. If it were located 50, or at most 100 meters, to the west, Fayad's plot would have found itself on the other side of the separation fence, on the other side of Gate 609, which soldiers open and close three times a day to allow entrance to those who have managed, after investing considerable efforts, to get permits in order to get to their land.

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