Where Is Jewish Support For Annapolis?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ori Nir - (Opinion) November 20, 2007 - 1:47pm

The call for American Jewish organizations to support the current peace efforts came from an unexpected direction: Israel’s Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger. For years closely associated with the right-wing National Religious Party, Metzger recently asked representatives of American Jewish groups in Washington to “influence the American administration” to do their utmost for the success of the Annapolis peace conference.

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In Annapolis, A Middle East Peace Meeting Defined By Fear
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun
by Trudy Rubin - (Opinion) November 20, 2007 - 1:43pm

Thirty years ago, on Nov. 19, 1977, I stood at Israel's Ben Gurion airport as Anwar el-Sadat's plane landed on the tarmac. The scene defied imagination, as the Egyptian leader embraced Israeli leaders. Hope was in the air. Suddenly, anything seemed possible. Mr. Sadat's bold move led to Israeli accords with Egypt and Jordan and the tantalizing hope of a deal with the Palestinians. But over the last seven years, the peace process has virtually collapsed.

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High-level Saudi Presence Seen Unlikely At Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Andrew Hammond - November 20, 2007 - 1:41pm

Saudi Arabia could keep the United States guessing until the last minute on whether it will attend a Middle East peace conference next week, but analysts and diplomats say a high-level delegation is unlikely. Saudi Arabia -- a key U.S. ally whose presence would give a major boost to the U.S.-sponsored November 26-27 summit in Annapolis, Maryland -- has said it will attend only if core issues are tackled at the latest in a line of high-profile Arab-Israeli meetings dating back to Madrid in 1992.

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Israel Takes Steps To Attract Arab States To Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Scott Wilson - November 20, 2007 - 1:39pm

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, hoping to draw more Arab countries to a U.S.-sponsored peace conference this month, persuaded his cabinet Monday to endorse the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and restated a pledge to stop building new Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.

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Halting Steps Taken To Frame Mideast Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - November 20, 2007 - 1:38pm

Israeli and Palestinian leaders made new efforts on Monday toward preparing a joint statement before an international peace gathering planned for next week, but some issues have yet to be resolved, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, met at the prime minister’s residence here to try to salvage efforts to agree on a short written text. The statement would be presented at the American-sponsored gathering tentatively scheduled for Nov. 26 and 27 in Annapolis, Md.

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Israel Setting Tone For Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Abraham Rabinovich - November 20, 2007 - 1:37pm

Israeli leaders have taken to using a new phrase loaded with hidden meaning ahead of a proposed conference this month in Annapolis — "two states for two peoples." The phrase is a variation on the Bush administration's repeated calls for a "two-state solution," which implies Israel's abandonment of the notion of a Greater Israel that incorporates the West Bank and the Palestinians' abandonment of any notion of destroying Israel.

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Invites Set For Mideast Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Anne Gearan, Matthew Lee - November 20, 2007 - 1:34pm

The United States plans to issue as early as Tuesday official invitations to a much-anticipated Middle East conference, to be held next week at Annapolis, Md., hoping for strong backing from a select group of Arab nations for the U.S. effort to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

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The Leadership Vacuum In Washington
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by David Dumke - November 19, 2007 - 4:44pm

Barring a major development, the situation in the “Greater Middle East” — defined by the Bush administration as the vast region from Morocco to Pakistan — will continue to play itself out with minimal US involvement until the inauguration of a new US president in January 2009. The weakness of President Bush both at home and abroad comes at a troubling time when international leadership is direly needed to prevent the further deterioration, which could have catastrophic, lasting consequences for the region.

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Don't Play Fatah Off Against Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - November 19, 2007 - 4:43pm

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call Thursday for the Hamas "gang" to be ousted from Gaza is understandable, but misguided. Hamas are no angels, and their police's shooting of seven Palestinian demonstrators from Abbas' Fatah faction earlier this week during a pro-Fatah rally in Gaza is the sort of act that blackens their name. Yet for Abbas to refer to Hamas as a "gang" and ask for their ouster is only going to worsen the tensions between Palestinians, at a time when precisely the opposite is required.

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Peace Is Possible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ian Black - (Special Report) November 19, 2007 - 4:40pm

Like so many Palestinians of his generation, Sari Nusseibeh looks back at years of struggle that have achieved precious little. His entire adult life has been spent in the shadow of conflict with Israel and it is difficult to find even a glimmer of optimism that it is going to be resolved any time soon.

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