By Attending Peace Talks, Saudi Arabia Will Be Putting Its Credibility On The Line
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) October 22, 2007 - 10:38am

Even the most optimistic analysts did not expect to see US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice make major headway this week in prodding the Palestinians and Israelis toward peace negotiations. Everyone knows that Rice's last-minute peace mission comes in the final stretch of the Bush administration's second term in office, when the secretary of state has just 17 months to try to do what a host of world leaders have spent decades trying to achieve.

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Israel Ready To Discuss Creation Of Palestinian State, Says Rice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by James Hider - October 22, 2007 - 10:36am

Israel is willing to discuss “fundamental issues” with the Palestinians about the creation of their future state, Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said yesterday. With the Palestinian leadership demanding that fresh talks focus on vital issues such as borders, the status of millions of refugees and the status of Jerusalem, Dr Rice held out new hope that talks could go beyond the modest trust-building measures that the Jewish state has so far put on the table.

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Arming Its Friends And Talking Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
October 22, 2007 - 10:35am

In short, a new sort of cold war stalks the region

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Rice: Israel Ready To Discuss Fundamental Issues With Fatah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Eric Silver - October 22, 2007 - 10:33am

Israeli and Palestinian leaders are expected to start to sketch the contours of a Palestinian state next week. Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, ended a 24-hour shuttle between Jerusalem and Ramallah yesterday, convinced that the two sides were ready to discuss fundamental issues in advance of President Bush's Middle East peace conference, now tentatively planned to take place in Washington in November.

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One Last Try?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 10:32am

The Bush administration has unveiled a four-part plan to rescue its overall Middle East policy, from Saudi Arabia to Iran/Iraq and Israel/Palestine.

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Mideast: Bush Revs Up Lemon Of A Peace Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Khody Akhavi - October 22, 2007 - 10:29am

Political factions Fatah and Hamas must reconcile in order to pursue a sustainable peace in the Palestinian territories, and if and when a power-sharing agreement is brokered, the international community must be willing to accept it, according to a recent report by the International Crisis Group (ICG)."As long as the Palestinian schism endures, progress is on shaky ground. Security and a credible peace process depend on minimal intra-Palestinian consensus," it said.

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Another Tour Ends Without Solid Plans On Mideast Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Robin Wright - October 22, 2007 - 10:20am

After years of setbacks, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice set out this week to make one more push toward Middle East peace on behalf of an administration that has less than 18 months left in office. She got some polite nibbles, but not yet the big bite needed to ensure that President Bush's call last month for an international meeting of the region's major players will yield substance.

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Rice Backs Appointed Palestinian Premier And Mideast Democracy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper, Steven Erlanger - October 22, 2007 - 10:15am

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, embracing an appointed Palestinian prime minister here in the West Bank, said Thursday that the United States still supported democracy in the Middle East. But she defended the American refusal to recognize the earlier, elected, Hamas-led government.

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Shifting Politics Bring Arabs And Israelis Closer
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - October 22, 2007 - 10:13am

It's a given that any US secretary of State will come to the Middle East, shake the hands of Israeli and Arab leaders, and try to prod them toward peace. But other givens that have long defined the conflict are beginning to shift, helping Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice – who finished a week-long trip to the region on Thursday – move forward in a new push by the Bush administration to bring its Middle East allies to the negotiating table.

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Playstation Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 10:12am

The good news is that something is stirring in the peace process. For the first time in seven years an Israeli prime minister declares that there are Palestinians to talk to - namely Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayad.

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