November 2nd

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. » Read more

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. » Read more

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. » Read more

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. » Read more

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. » Read more

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. » Read more

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. » Read more

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. » Read more

November 1st

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." » Read more

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. » Read more