Airtime For Israel's Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Ken Ellingwood - November 23, 2007 - 6:32pm Maram frets that she's fat. Tony says men don't care how they look. Shahd thinks nose jobs are fine. It may sound like usual talk-show blather until you consider that the three commentators are preteen children. And something far more unusual for Israeli television: They are Arabs. Every week, Maram abu Ahmad, 12; Tony Khleif, 11; and Shahd Shahbari, also 11, get together on camera with an adult host to discuss, in Arabic, their lives and views during freewheeling chats that regularly veer into the minefields of politics and identity. » Read more

Needed: A Cease-fire With Hamas, Now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Yossi Beilin - (Opinion) November 23, 2007 - 6:27pm Hamas's victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006 and its violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in June were very bad news for those who believe in Israeli-Palestinian peace. But as Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization prepare to launch formal negotiations on final status -- for the first time in seven years -- Israel should seek to reach a cease-fire with Hamas as soon as possible. » Read more

Saudi Arabia To Attend Middle East Peace Meet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Mohamed Abdellah, Will Rasmussen - (Opinion) November 23, 2007 - 6:25pm Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Friday he would attend a conference to relaunch talks on ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a move that the United States and Israel hope will bolster the chances of its success. Saudi participation in the November 27 U.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis, Maryland could improve Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's ability to reach an agreement and help Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sell it to Israelis by holding out the prospect of wider peace with the Arab world. » Read more

Pact Unlikely Before Talks In U.s., Palestinian Insists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - November 23, 2007 - 6:23pm A senior Palestinian official said here on Thursday that it would be a “miracle” if the Palestinian and Israeli negotiating teams agreed on a joint document, as they had hoped, to present at the American-sponsored Middle East peace gathering set to start Tuesday in Annapolis, Md. But the official held out the possibility that a last-minute agreement on a short outline of intentions or principles could be reached in Washington, with help from the Bush administration, on the eve of the meeting. » Read more