To Tony Blair, Institution Builder
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 10:09am

As former British prime minister Tony Blair takes on his latest challenge as the envoy of the Quartet, there are a number of important challenges that he faces. Because of the restrictions on his ability to work on the larger political process, I am suggesting three challenges that are within his new job description. Two of these have to do solely with the Palestinians and one with the Israelis.

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Time Does Not Take Orders From Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) October 19, 2007 - 8:40pm

The Palestinian partner was born in Oslo in the summer of 1993, and died seven years later at Camp David. Following seven more years of violence, diplomatic stalemate and renewed settlement - and following the disillusionment from the misconception of unilateral moves - the word "partner" is slowly making a comeback.

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Fuit En Avant
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - October 19, 2007 - 8:34pm

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are both experienced politicians. At least for the moment, they seem perfectly capable of ignoring the internal political critics of their negotiations. And there is a lot to ignore.

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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.

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Rice's Visit / In The Shadow Of Mlk
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) October 16, 2007 - 1:02pm

When Condoleezza Rice talks about the establishment of a Palestinian state next to Israel, she sees in her mind's eye the struggle of African Americans for equal rights, which culminated in the period of her Alabama childhood. Rice is very aware of political sensitivity, and avoids making such comparisons in public speeches and interviews, where she keeps to the official list of talking points. But in private, she talks about the

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Us Presses Palestinians And Israel To Find Common Ground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ian Black - (Special Report) October 16, 2007 - 12:46pm

 The US yesterday urged Israel and the Palestinians to work to overcome their differences before an international conference next month even as a top UN expert lambasted the "Quartet" of Middle East peacemakers for failing to promote Palestinian rights.

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Politics: Another Mideast Envoy Fed Up With Quartet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Haider Rizvi - October 16, 2007 - 12:45pm

The United Nations has come under strong criticism from one of its own top human rights officials for failing to take effective action to check the ongoing Israeli abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories. Expressing his anger and frustration at the fast-deteriorating human rights situation in Gaza and the West Bank, John Dugard, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights for the Palestinian territories since 2001, has suggested that the world body quit the Middle East Quartet.

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Condoleezza Rice Warns Israelis Over Land Grab
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Carolynne Wheeler - October 15, 2007 - 3:15pm

Condoleezza Rice gave a warning yesterday that progress would be slow as the US Secretary of State embarked on a round of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East in advance of a peace conference next month. Progress on a joint statement on Palestinian statehood, the framework of the US-hosted conference in Annapolis, Maryland, is still so limited that invitations have yet to be issued, and Dr Rice conceded yesterday that the coming days were unlikely to produce any significant breakthroughs.

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Israel Signals Readiness To Cede Parts Of Jerusalem To Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Mark Tran - (Special Report) October 15, 2007 - 3:13pm

The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, today signalled his readiness to give up parts of Jerusalem to the Palestinians in an apparent concession ahead of a US-sponsored peace conference. Mr Olmert noted that Israel had built a series of thriving Jewish neighbourhoods in east Jerusalem, but signalled that Israel's control of Arab areas was not necessary.

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Uphill Climb For Rice On Mideast Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Howard Lafranchi - October 15, 2007 - 3:04pm

As the Bush administration moves to revive the long-dormant Middle East peace process – most notably by calling Israeli and Palestinian leaders to an international conference to be held next month outside Washington – pressure is building for a White House to deliver on its new quest for peace.

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