Rice Expects Little From Mideast Trip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Ashraf Khalil - November 5, 2007 - 2:28pm

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice returned to Israel on Sunday for the third time in six weeks, seeking to nudge the Israeli and Palestinian sides before an upcoming U.S.-sponsored peace conference. But after a day of meetings with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Rice acknowledged that her two-day visit was unlikely to get the two sides to agree on the joint pre-conference statement of goals that the U.S. has sought.

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In Mideast, Rice Pushes Annapolis Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Karen Deyoung - November 5, 2007 - 2:23pm

Israel is ready to put "all basic questions, all the substantive problems, all the historical questions" about Palestinian statehood on the table in a U.S.-hosted peace conference later this month in Annapolis, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday. "It is time," Olmert said in an impassioned speech. "All questions are on the agenda. We won't run away from any of them."

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Carter's Clarity, Bush's Befuddlement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Robert Novak - (Opinion) November 5, 2007 - 2:22pm

The timing of the release of the new documentary "Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains" was not intentional. The movie is arriving in theaters just before the Bush administration's proposed Middle East conference in Annapolis, scheduled for the end of this month. But the former president's clarity on the Palestinian question contrasts sharply with George W. Bush's refusal to face reality, casting a pall over hopes to conclude his presidency with a diplomatic triumph.

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Olmert Backs Mideast Peace Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper - November 5, 2007 - 2:19pm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel issued his strongest and most vocal support yet on Sunday for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s efforts to forge a Middle East peace plan, raising the possibility of making peace with the Palestinians before the conclusion of the Bush administration.

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That Promised Peace Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) November 5, 2007 - 2:18pm

One month before President Bush’s Mideast peace conference — the administration’s first serious effort in six years — it’s still not clear what will be on the agenda or who, beyond the Americans, Israelis and Palestinians, will show up. Even the date is still up in the air.

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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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Lessons From The Failed Peace Talks At Camp David
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Moshe Amirav - (Opinion) November 2, 2007 - 5:05pm

This month 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 failures of previous attempts - in Madrid in 1991, in Oslo in 1993 and at Camp David in 2000 - highlight the difficulties. What have we learned from these failures to suggest that the same errors in judgment will recur?

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Us Hopes Iran Fears Will Prod Progress At Mideast Peace Meet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
November 2, 2007 - 4:56pm

The United States hopes it can translate mounting concerns about Iran’s strength into progress in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, officials and observers say. Publicly, State Department officials strain to downplay expectations for the conference expected before year’s end in scenic Annapolis, Maryland, near Washington. Privately, they are aglow with an optimism that clashes head-on with the pessimism many Arab leaders have voiced.

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Sderot & Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) November 2, 2007 - 4:46pm

The terrorist shelling of Sderot and other towns and villages neighboring Gaza has to stop, but the policies Israel has adopted to achieve that goal will not do the job.  The most significant thing to know about the shelling is that Sderot is in Israel itself—not in the occupied territories. Accordingly, it is ridiculous to refer to the attacks as representing “resistance” unless, of course, the resistance is to the existence of Israel and not the occupation. In the case of Sderot, and neighboring towns, it clearly is.

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Palestinian Force Enters Nablus In Security Drive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Atef Saad - November 2, 2007 - 4:40pm

Hundreds of Palestinian security officers arrived in Nablus on Friday in the first stage of a Western-backed drive to crack down on gunmen in the occupied West Bank ahead of a peace conference with Israel. Israel, which is trying to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas against his Hamas rivals, approved the deployment in the flashpoint West Bank city. Israeli government spokesman David Baker said the move would improve security and could be repeated elsewhere in the West Bank if it worked well.

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