Olmert: Core Issues Are On The Annapolis Agenda
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - November 5, 2007 - 2:40pm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert took the stage at the Saban Forum on Sunday evening in Jerusalem, and delivered an impassioned speech promising to seriously pursue current Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, saying that "all the fundamental questions and substantial problems will be on the table at Annapolis."

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The Annapolis Summit
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Washington Times (Opinion) - November 5, 2007 - 1:00am

The skeptics have unassailable arguments: History and a consistent record of failure are on their side. Weak Israeli and Palestinian governments, an American president in the last stretch of his second term, dysfunctional Israeli and Palestinian body politics, and cynical media coverage all dampen any reasonable expectations of success for the Middle East summit in Annapolis.

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Saudis Signal Doubts Over Middle East Peace Talks Called By Us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ian Black - November 2, 2007 - 4:54pm

Saudi Arabia has signalled that it will not attend the Middle East peace conference scheduled by the US for this month unless there is significant agreement in advance on the core issues that divide Israelis and Palestinians. But Prince Saud al-Faisal, the foreign minister, also held out a vision of normalisation between the Arab world and Israel - "not just the absence of war" - if the conflict could be resolved.

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You Can Learn It In A Negotiations Course
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - November 1, 2007 - 2:49pm

It is not easy to discuss the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in a practical manner, without past grudges. Too many emotions, historical memories and political interests are involved, turning every discussion of a solution to the conflict into a slogan contest: "diplomatic horizon," "partition of Jerusalem," "right of return."

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Old Rivals Team Up To Win Saudi Backing For Peace Talks On The Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Richard Beeston - (Editorial) November 1, 2007 - 2:42pm

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair teamed up yesterday to try to salvage a planned Middle East peace conference in America by clinching Saudi Arabia’s attendance. According to British officials, first the Prime Minister and then his predecessor met King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia yesterday. It was made clear at the meetings that the country’s participation was crucial for what is being billed as the best chance for peace in the region for seven years.

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The Siege Of Gaza Is Going To Lead To A Violent Escalation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Seumas Milne - (Commentary) November 1, 2007 - 2:40pm

There is, it seems, an unbridgeable gap between the western world's apparent recognition of the dangers of Palestinian suffering and its commitment to do anything whatever to stop it. This week the collective punishment of the people of Gaza reached a new level, as Israel began to choke off essential fuel supplies to its one and a half million people in retaliation for rockets fired by Palestinian resistance groups. A plan to cut power supplies has only been put on hold till the end of the week by the intervention of Israel's attorney general.

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A Mis-step On The Path To Middle East Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Jon B. Alterman - (Commentary) November 1, 2007 - 2:38pm

Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, is bringing the wrong people together in Annapolis, near Washington, in November. Belatedly deciding that the time has come for the Bush administration to put energy and focus into Arab-Israeli peacemaking, her effort to gather Israeli and Palestinian leaders and whatever other dignitaries will join her is not only too little, too late. It is also the wrong thing to do.

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Bipartisan Foreign Policy Leaders On Annapolis Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Prospectsforpeace.com
by Daniel Levy - (Blog) November 1, 2007 - 2:29pm

Below is the full text of a letter just released to President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as part of an effort supported by the U.S./Middle East Project, Inc., the International Crisis Group, and the New America Foundation/American Strategy Program. The letter is signed by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Lee H. Hamilton, Carla Hills , Nancy Kassebaum-Baker, Thomas R. Pickering, Brent Scowcroft, Theodore C. Sorensen and Paul Volcker. It is an initiative that I am very involved with and keen to encourage.

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Carter’s Efforts To Mend Ties With Community Get Cold Shoulder
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - November 1, 2007 - 2:21pm

Jimmy Carter’s newest efforts to repair relations with the Jewish community were rebuffed not once but twice last week — and at the very highest levels. Carter’s first outreach effort came in an invitation to Jewish groups to discuss ways that the former president could help make the upcoming Middle East peace conference a success. While Carter invited most of the major Jewish organizations, the event was only attended by representatives of the Reform movement and by several smaller dovish Jewish groups.

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Rice Back In Middle East Carrying Many Hopes And Few Trump Cards
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna)
by Joe Macaron - October 31, 2007 - 5:29pm

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice travels on Thursday to the Middle East on her third mission to the region in two months amid dim hopes on resolving Palestinian-Israeli quandary ahead of upcoming Annapolis meeting. "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are engaged in an effort to produce a document that could serve the foundation for a serious negotiation for the establishment of a Palestinian state," said a senior State Department official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

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