November 20th

In Annapolis, A Middle East Peace Meeting Defined By Fear ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun by Trudy Rubin - (Opinion) November 20, 2007 - 1:43pm Thirty years ago, on Nov. 19, 1977, I stood at Israel's Ben Gurion airport as Anwar el-Sadat's plane landed on the tarmac. The scene defied imagination, as the Egyptian leader embraced Israeli leaders. Hope was in the air. Suddenly, anything seemed possible. Mr. Sadat's bold move led to Israeli accords with Egypt and Jordan and the tantalizing hope of a deal with the Palestinians. But over the last seven years, the peace process has virtually collapsed. » Read more

As Order Slides, Palestinian Women Face Honor Killings ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - November 20, 2007 - 1:42pm QALQILYA, WEST BANK All the women in the family say Wafa Wahdan was wonderful. But her sisters-in-law add that they noticed a few little things. She had changed the way she dressed in the past year to a less conservative style and she sometimes went out for a drive without saying where she was going. » Read more

High-level Saudi Presence Seen Unlikely At Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Andrew Hammond - November 20, 2007 - 1:41pm Saudi Arabia could keep the United States guessing until the last minute on whether it will attend a Middle East peace conference next week, but analysts and diplomats say a high-level delegation is unlikely. Saudi Arabia -- a key U.S. ally whose presence would give a major boost to the U.S.-sponsored November 26-27 summit in Annapolis, Maryland -- has said it will attend only if core issues are tackled at the latest in a line of high-profile Arab-Israeli meetings dating back to Madrid in 1992. » Read more

Israel Takes Steps To Attract Arab States To Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Scott Wilson - November 20, 2007 - 1:39pm Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, hoping to draw more Arab countries to a U.S.-sponsored peace conference this month, persuaded his cabinet Monday to endorse the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and restated a pledge to stop building new Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. » Read more

Halting Steps Taken To Frame Mideast Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - November 20, 2007 - 1:38pm Israeli and Palestinian leaders made new efforts on Monday toward preparing a joint statement before an international peace gathering planned for next week, but some issues have yet to be resolved, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, met at the prime minister’s residence here to try to salvage efforts to agree on a short written text. The statement would be presented at the American-sponsored gathering tentatively scheduled for Nov. 26 and 27 in Annapolis, Md. » Read more

Israel Setting Tone For Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Abraham Rabinovich - November 20, 2007 - 1:37pm Israeli leaders have taken to using a new phrase loaded with hidden meaning ahead of a proposed conference this month in Annapolis — "two states for two peoples." The phrase is a variation on the Bush administration's repeated calls for a "two-state solution," which implies Israel's abandonment of the notion of a Greater Israel that incorporates the West Bank and the Palestinians' abandonment of any notion of destroying Israel. » Read more

Invites Set For Mideast Conference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Anne Gearan, Matthew Lee - November 20, 2007 - 1:34pm The United States plans to issue as early as Tuesday official invitations to a much-anticipated Middle East conference, to be held next week at Annapolis, Md., hoping for strong backing from a select group of Arab nations for the U.S. effort to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. » Read more

November 19th

The Leadership Vacuum In Washington ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by David Dumke - November 19, 2007 - 4:44pm Barring a major development, the situation in the “Greater Middle East” — defined by the Bush administration as the vast region from Morocco to Pakistan — will continue to play itself out with minimal US involvement until the inauguration of a new US president in January 2009. The weakness of President Bush both at home and abroad comes at a troubling time when international leadership is direly needed to prevent the further deterioration, which could have catastrophic, lasting consequences for the region. » Read more

Don't Play Fatah Off Against Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - November 19, 2007 - 4:43pm Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call Thursday for the Hamas "gang" to be ousted from Gaza is understandable, but misguided. Hamas are no angels, and their police's shooting of seven Palestinian demonstrators from Abbas' Fatah faction earlier this week during a pro-Fatah rally in Gaza is the sort of act that blackens their name. Yet for Abbas to refer to Hamas as a "gang" and ask for their ouster is only going to worsen the tensions between Palestinians, at a time when precisely the opposite is required. » Read more

What Do You Mean When You Say 'no'? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - November 19, 2007 - 4:42pm A festive day for peace: Israel is planning to announce a freeze on construction in the settlements as compensation for refusing to discuss the core issues. The Palestinians are ecstatic at all the good-will gestures Israel is throwing their way. First came the release of prisoners, now a freeze on construction, and the prime minister has already spoken with the settler leaders and informed them of the decision. They said it was a "difficult meeting," as it always is, winking at each other deviously. » Read more