Gop Candidates: Protect Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Libby Quaid - October 17, 2007 - 10:33am

Israel's security must be safeguarded in the coming talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, GOP presidential contenders told the Republican Jewish Coalition on Tuesday. Palestinians must acknowledge Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state and make a good-faith effort to stop terrorism, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said.

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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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The Israeli Right Has A Peace Plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Letter From Israel/antiwar.com
by Ran Hacohen - (Blog) October 16, 2007 - 12:36pm

While the world holds its breath in anticipation of the Mideast Summit in Annapolis – which, no doubt, will constitute a historic landmark, giving a most significant boost to the economy of that small town in Maryland – the Israeli right wing comes up with a new peace initiative, launched by MK Benny Elon, chairman of the National Union and the Moledet Party, as "The Israeli Initiative," "a new way of thinking about the conflict, in learning from our mistakes, and in rereading the regional map toward a revitalized and genuine quest to achiev

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Obstacles Stall Rice's Mideast Diplomacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Matthew Lee - October 15, 2007 - 2:39pm

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice opened an intense round of Mideast shuttle diplomacy Sunday, struggling to bring Israelis and Palestinians close enough to make a planned U.S.-hosted peace conference worthwhile. The two sides are at bitter odds over an outline of a peace agreement that would be presented at next month's conference, and Rice sought to lower expectations her mission would finalize preparations for the gathering.

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A Welcome Right-wing Leverage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - October 12, 2007 - 2:19pm

To his aides, Ariel Sharon would praise Uzi Landau, the leader of the Likud "rebels," who opposed the disengagement plan. Uzi has a historic role, Sharon explained: If the plan is implemented without encountering any resistance, the world will think such a move is easy and that Israel did not make enough concessions. For this reason internal opponents are important - they strengthen you outwardly.

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One Reason For The Absence Of Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
October 12, 2007 - 2:08pm

TWO months ago Heftsiba, an Israeli construction firm, went bust. One reason for its woes was a court order last year to freeze work on a big housing project on an Israeli settlement just inside the West Bank. The land, it turned out, had in effect been stolen from private owners in a neighbouring Palestinian village, Bilin. Yet after the bankruptcy, the same court ruled that the apartment blocks—and their prospective buyers, who had broken in and occupied them at the news of Heftsiba's impending collapse—could stay.

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Islamist Leader Hints At Hamas Pull-out From Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by James Hider - October 12, 2007 - 2:04pm

Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip, took a significant step towards reconciliation with the Palestinian President yesterday, saying that its rule of the tiny coastal territory was only “temporary”.

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Accord Needed Before Mideast Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Mark Lavie - October 12, 2007 - 1:04pm

President Bush should not convene his planned Mideast peace conference next month if Israel and the Palestinians have not achieved an agreement in advance, a Palestinian negotiator said Thursday. Israel has been pressing for a vaguely worded document that would gloss over the toughest issues still outstanding _ borders, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. Palestinians prefer a detailed preliminary agreement with a timetable for creating a Palestinian state, though it is not clear if they would refuse to agree to less.

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The International Inversion Towards The Two State Solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Reut Institute
October 11, 2007 - 3:06pm

The International Inversion towards the Two State Solution refers to the danger that leading actors among the international community will abandon their support for the 'Two State Solution' and instead support the 'The One State Solution' on the basis of 'one man one vote'. Definition The concept 'The International Inversion towards the Two State Solution' refers to the danger that leading actors among the international community will abandon their support for the 'Two State Solution' (or any other option establishing the principle of separation between Israel and the Palestin

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Awaiting American Arm-twisting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) October 11, 2007 - 2:44pm

One cannot help but feel dubious about the chances of success at next month's "meeting" in nearby Annapolis, home of the American Naval Academy, to lay the groundwork for a final Palestinian-Israeli settlement. The reasons are many and, in major part, the key players are three lame-ducks. But, should these leaders chose, they can capitalise on this weakness and perceivably come up with reasonable "principles" for the much-awaited settlement that can be supported by all, if the participants in the conference endorse the document.

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