October 18th

Joint Israeli, Palestinian Statement Will Address 'core Issues,' Sources Say ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid - (Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:47pm Israel is prepared to make a joint declaration with the Palestinians at the international peace conference scheduled to take place next month in Annapolis that will address the core issues of Jerusalem, refugees and permanent borders, a senior government official told Haaretz yesterday. Palestinian officials demanded Israel commit to a timetable for negotiations. » Read more

Time To Intervene, Frankly ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:44pm US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is right to say that, “frankly, it’s time for a Palestinian state”. She’s also right to go visit the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. She’s going to need all the help she can get. » Read more

For Lebanon, Caring About Palestinians Means Protecting Its Own ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star (Editorial) October 18, 2007 - 5:43pm A new report by Amnesty International has rightly placed blame for the especially onerous plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon on several doorsteps. Apart from the consistent inadequacy of the Lebanese approach, it also points out the failure of the international community in general - and of Israel in particular - to find acceptable solutions. It should be noted, too, that for decades Lebanese policies on this issue (like those in countless other areas) were constricted and/or dictated by the Syrian overlords who held sway over Beirut. » Read more

Lessons From Camp David ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Moshe Amirav - (Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:40pm Next month the US president George W. Bush proposes to host an international conference in Annapolis, near Washington, in the hope of advancing a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. The failure of previous attempts – in Madrid in 1991, in Oslo in 1993 and at Camp David in 2000 – highlights the difficulties. What have we learnt from these failures so that the same errors in judgment do not recur? » Read more

Rice Wins No Firm Mid-east Vows ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News October 18, 2007 - 5:38pm US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has ended a Middle East tour without firm commitments to a conference on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. But she said the talks, due to be held in the US by the end of the year, still had a "reasonable chance of success". Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of holding up a joint document with the Palestinians. He said time was running out and the Palestinians could opt out of the conference without the document. The Israelis are pushing for a more general framework. » Read more

Gates In The Lion’s Den ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Jim Lobe - (Blog) October 18, 2007 - 5:35pm Monday night’s speech by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to the ultra-hawkish Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) must have deeply disappointed most of his audience, particularly when it came to his brief discussion of Iran. While Gates repeated the adminstration’s mantra that “all options are on the table,” the degree to which he emphasized diplomacy and omitted any mention of the growing list of charges by other U.S. military and administration officials regarding Tehran’s alleged “proxy war” against U.S. » Read more

Rice Upbeat On Mideast, Heading Back Soon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Arshad Mohammed - October 18, 2007 - 5:33pm U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday she was encouraged by her talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories this week and a U.S. official said she planned to return in about two weeks. White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley plans to visit the region next week to prepare for a U.S.-hosted peace conference later this year, said the U.S. official who spoke on condition that he was not identified. » Read more

Breaking The Taboo: Why We Took On The Israel Lobby ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alternet by Eric Chinski - (Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:30pm Why did your article "The Israel Lobby," which was published in the London Review of Books in 2006, provoke such heated discussion around the world? James Traub wrote in The New York Times Magazine: " 'The Israel Lobby' slammed into the opinion-making world with a Category 5 force." How would you describe the reaction? » Read more

Gop Candidates Use Jewish Forum To Knock Bush’s Push For Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - October 18, 2007 - 5:24pm In an appearance before Jewish voters Tuesday, all five Republican presidential candidates expressed skepticism about the Bush administration’s current push for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. The event, hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition, featured the leading contenders for the GOP nomination: Rudy Giuliani, Sam Brownback, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. » Read more

Bush Optimistic On Mideast Peace Despite Discord ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Lee Myers - October 18, 2007 - 5:16pm President Bush expressed optimism on Wednesday that the Israelis and Palestinians could negotiate a peace agreement as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ended four days of talks here with a spasm of discord between the sides. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, ducked to enter the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem during a visit Wednesday. » Read more