Race To Clear Air For Mideast Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck, Daniel Dombey - November 19, 2007 - 4:38pm

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators face intense diplomatic activity this week in an attempt to bridge differences ahead of a US-sponsored peace meeting intended to bring an end to six decades of conflict. In an early reminder of the obstacles in their way, the two sides are struggling to draft a joint statement that would form the basis for the meeting at Annapolis and for later talks.

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Top Donors Criticize Aipac
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - November 19, 2007 - 4:31pm

Two top donors to AIPAC are raising objections over its support for a congressional letter that urges the Bush administration to increase assistance to the Palestinian Authority. Sheldon Adelson, a casino magnate ranked by Forbes as the third wealthiest American and the sixth wealthiest man in the world, told JTA he raised the issue in a phone call with Howard Kohr, the executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. An active Republican, Adelson likened AIPAC to a friend assisting Israel's suicide.

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Us Pushes Israel On West Bank Settlers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Josef Federman - November 19, 2007 - 4:30pm

The U.S. is pressuring Israel to meet a long-standing obligation to freeze all West Bank settlement construction ahead of a high-profile Mideast conference, rejecting Israel's stance that it be allowed to continue building in existing communities, Israeli officials said Sunday. The officials said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Cabinet would discuss the settlement issue on Monday, though it remained unclear whether the ministers would endorse any changes in policy.

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Abbas Sends Team To U.s. To Narrow Conference Gaps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Wafa Amr - November 19, 2007 - 4:25pm

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dispatched top aides to Washington on Sunday to try to narrow differences with Israel and ensure wide Arab participation in a U.S.-led peace conference. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plan to meet on Monday in Jerusalem for the last time before attending the conference on Palestinian statehood, which senior officials expect to convene in Annapolis, Maryland, on Nov. 26-27.

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Mideast Conference Nears, With Few Plans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - November 19, 2007 - 4:21pm

A few days after Thanksgiving, President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plan to open a meeting in Annapolis to launch the first round of substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks during Bush's presidency. But no conference date has been set. No invitations have been issued. And no one really agrees on what the participants will actually talk about once they arrive at the Naval Academy for the meeting, which is intended to relaunch Bush's stillborn "road map" plan to create a Palestinian state.

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Israel, Palestine, Crab Cakes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) November 19, 2007 - 4:20pm

I would like to invest hope in the Annapolis Middle East peace conference, or meeting, or parley, or whatever the term is. Really, I would. The 59-year battle for the same land of Zionist and Palestinian national movements has not been good for anyone.

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U.s. Pushes For Turnout At Middle East Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Steven Erlanger - November 19, 2007 - 4:18pm

By pushing Israel to accept immediate negotiations with the Palestinians on the thorny “final status” issues, with the aim to conclude a peace settlement within a year, the Bush administration is trying to attract a significant Arab presence at the peace conference in Annapolis, Md. The meeting in Annapolis, now penciled in to start Nov. 26 and last less than 24 hours, is meant to begin — and bless — negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders on a final peace agreement between them, ostensibly to be completed by the end of the Bush presidency.

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Crafting The Invitation To Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yonatan Touval - (Opinion) November 16, 2007 - 4:32pm

As the date for the Annapolis summit nears and doubts increase over the ability of Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a joint document outlining how they intend to resolve the core issues of the conflict, the time has come for the United States to step in and draft a letter of invitation.

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Deserting A Sinking Ship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Danny Rubenstein - (Opinion) November 16, 2007 - 4:30pm

In the summer of 1971, Prof. Yehoshua Porat of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem published his important book "The Emergence of the Arab- Palestinian National Movement, 1918-1929." In a preface to the book, veteran teacher and researcher Gabriel Baer praised "the pioneering work in the field, in which the scientific approach has been neglected." The best scholars associated with this research field, including Arabs, praised Porat's work.

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Israel Exhibits Its True Colours
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
(Editorial) November 16, 2007 - 4:28pm

Since 1967, when Israel occupied the eastern part of Jerusalem, there has been a silent movement by Israeli politicians and consecutive prime ministers to ensure that talk on the fate of occupied East Jerusalem is always pushed to "later stages" of any "negotiations" with the Palestinians or even the international community. In fact, the first time occupied Jerusalem was put on the negotiating table was during the Camp David meetings in 2000. Then-Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak received heavy criticism from many Israelis for even discussing it.

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