December 4th

Bring Them Home, Gradually ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) December 4, 2007 - 2:20pm Since the separation fence was built, thousands of settlers who live east of it find themselves in an unclear situation. Having to wait for a political settlement to determine the permanent border is nerve-racking for those who wish to lead a normal life. Polls show that some 20,000 settlers at least would at this point like to vacate communities east of the fence, if they receive enough compensation to buy a new home. » Read more

Israel Hedges On Annapolis Deadline ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Australian by Martin Chulov - December 4, 2007 - 2:19pm ISRAELI leaders are refusing to commit to December next year as a deadline for squaring off peace with the Palestinians, claiming the time frame agreed to in the Annapolis summit was a guideline only. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni both raised Annapolis during lengthy addresses at a cabinet meeting yesterday. The meeting was the first since the pair returned from Washington with a commitment from US President George W. Bush to drive difficult negotiations towards a resolution late next year. » Read more

Analysis: After Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News by Jeremy Bowen - (Editorial) December 4, 2007 - 2:17pm The sun was going down over Chesapeake Bay last Tuesday as the Middle East diplomatic circus left the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. The Israeli and Palestinian delegations headed for home, by way of Washington DC, and more meetings with President Bush. Since the summer, just getting to Annapolis and not letting the meeting become a disaster has been the main focus of American policy towards the two sides. » Read more

Peace Talks Back From The Dead ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Speigel International by Ralf Beste, Christoph Schult , Bernhard Zand - December 4, 2007 - 2:16pm Peace in the Middle East has been but a faint glimmer on the horizon since the 2000 Camp David talks failed. But now, both the Israelis and Palestinians say they are once again committed to reaching an agreement. But it might depend on their neighbors. A Palestinian member of the Fatah Movement watches the Annapolis summit on television last week. » Read more

Bush: No Change In Iran Policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Simon Jeffery, Mark Tran - (Special Report) December 4, 2007 - 2:11pm George Bush today ruled out a change in Washington's Iran policy following the declassification yesterday of a US intelligence report that concluded Tehran had abandoned its nuclear weapons programme in 2003. The US president denied the national intelligence estimate (NIE) - which said Tehran's determination to develop nuclear weapons "is less ... than we have been judging" - had undercut his administration's repeated assertions that Iran was building nuclear weapons. » Read more

Diaspora Groups And Israel Spar At Summit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Marc Perelman - December 4, 2007 - 2:09pm In a rare public spat between Israel and its supporters in the United States, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert bluntly denounced efforts by a coalition of American Jewish groups aimed at maintaining a united Jerusalem. Following statements by several hawkish and Orthodox groups that appeared to question Israel’s right to broach discussion of dividing Jerusalem with the Palestinians, Olmert told reporters on the eve of this week’s peace conference in Annapolis, Md., that Israel has exclusive purview over negotiating the future of its capital. » Read more

Israel To Build Homes In East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Aron Heller - December 4, 2007 - 2:07pm Israel said Tuesday it is seeking bids to build more than 300 new homes in a disputed east Jerusalem neighborhood, drawing Palestinian condemnations that the move is undermining the newly revived peace talks held last week in Annapolis, Md. A Housing Ministry spokesman said 307 units would be built in Har Homa, a Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem. Israel captured the eastern part of the city in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. » Read more

Mideast: Olmert Walks Razor's Edge In Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Peter Hirschberg - (Analysis) December 4, 2007 - 2:06pm Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has issued a dire warning to his people. Failure to reach a negotiated two-state settlement with the Palestinians, he has declared, will mean the end of the State of Israel. » Read more

Policy Surge Key To Mideast Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe by H.d.s. Greenway - (Opinion) December 4, 2007 - 2:06pm IT OFTEN takes electric shock treatment to get the Middle East off its dead center of inertia. The lightning success of the first Gulf war in 1991 produced just that, unsettling all the old presumptions. » Read more

Palestinians Expand Security Drive With New Forces ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Muin Shadid - December 4, 2007 - 2:04pm Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's government stepped up a Western-backed crackdown on gunmen on Tuesday by deploying hundreds of security officers in the West Bank city of Tulkarm. Tulkarm is the second West Bank city to welcome the new Palestinian force. The security drive, which comes as Palestinians start talks with Israel about statehood, started last month when hundreds of officers were deployed in Nablus. » Read more