November 6th

Abbas Sees Palestinian State Soon Achievable ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Karen Deyoung - November 6, 2007 - 12:45pm Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that he believes the path to peace with Israel is now clear and that a Palestinian state can be achieved before the end of the Bush administration in January 2009. » Read more

Pm Slams Israel Rightists' Provocation Over Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Joseph Nasr - November 6, 2007 - 12:44pm Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed on Monday to fight violent "incitement" by Israeli groups opposed to his efforts to negotiate with the Palestinians and said he was ready to make "painful concessions" to secure peace. His speech, heavy with memories of violence within Israeli society, was a reaction to displays of hostility that marked Sunday's 12th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was shot by a Jew angry at his peace efforts. » Read more

Israel Puts Jerusalem On The Negotiating Table ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - November 6, 2007 - 12:41pm As she visits the Middle East this week, USSecretary of State Condoleezza Rice is pressing Israeli and Palestinian leaders to commit to confidence-building measures and a timetable ahead of an upcoming US-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Md. Israel has resisted a timetable, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a major speech Sunday night that he is ready to begin accelerated peace talks – even on final-status issues such as Jerusalem. » Read more

November 5th

Olmert: Core Issues Are On The Annapolis Agenda ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - November 5, 2007 - 2:40pm Prime Minister Ehud Olmert took the stage at the Saban Forum on Sunday evening in Jerusalem, and delivered an impassioned speech promising to seriously pursue current Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, saying that "all the fundamental questions and substantial problems will be on the table at Annapolis." » Read more

No Exceptions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) November 5, 2007 - 2:38pm How can a country, which according to endless foreign reports has kept secret for years several atomic weapons, manage to rally the international community in a struggle against a neighboring country that insists on acquiring nuclear energy? What do Israeli politicians answer to those asking why Iran should not be allowed to acquire the same armaments that are already in the arsenals of neighboring countries, like Pakistan and India? » Read more

Rice's Visit Won't Bring Change ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News (Editorial) November 5, 2007 - 2:37pm As US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice begins yet another visit to the region, the purposefulness of such visits comes into serious question. Tackling the differences between the Palestinians and the Israelis is something that could be done only by addressing the real issue. » Read more

New Palestinian Police Force Makes Tense Debut In West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald Macintyre - November 5, 2007 - 2:36pm camp excitedly mobbed the armed, olive-uniformed officers from the second special brigade of the National Security force, deployed with their soft-top Jeeps across the road for the first time. They crowded round the blue and white patrol car driven by Major Eyad Shteyer, the city's deputy police chief, thrusting their hands through an open window in friendly greeting. » Read more

Jerusalem Diary: Monday 5 November ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News by Tim Franks - November 5, 2007 - 2:32pm DIRECTING THE POLICE DIRECTING THE TRAFFIC There may not be many well-paid jobs in the occupied territories. But there are plenty of policemen and security officers. They were on the streets of Nablus in the West Bank the other day, waving furiously at the traffic. They were trying to ensure that the path was clear for Gen Keith Dayton, the US point man in the region, whose job is to help knock the Palestinian security forces into better shape. » Read more

Fatah Targets Mosques In Latest Anti-hamas Campaign ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rory Mccarthy - November 5, 2007 - 2:30pm The Palestinian Fatah-led government has mounted a crackdown on preachers from the rival Hamas movement, arresting or sacking clerics accused of spreading political dissent. The Fatah campaign, which is being enforced across the West Bank, is a reaction to the violent Hamas takeover of Gaza in June and marks a widening divide between the two factions and territories. » Read more

Rice Expects Little From Mideast Trip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Ashraf Khalil - November 5, 2007 - 2:28pm Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice returned to Israel on Sunday for the third time in six weeks, seeking to nudge the Israeli and Palestinian sides before an upcoming U.S.-sponsored peace conference. But after a day of meetings with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Rice acknowledged that her two-day visit was unlikely to get the two sides to agree on the joint pre-conference statement of goals that the U.S. has sought. » Read more