The Palestinian Path To Peace Does Not Go Via Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Jonathan Steele - (Opinion) November 16, 2007 - 4:22pm

As the United States-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, approaches, the key question is what follows when it fails. Fiasco is looming, so what do the Palestinians do next? In their decades-long bid for justice, they have already tried everything.

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No Clear Way Forward For Middle East Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Philip Stephens - (Opinion) November 16, 2007 - 4:14pm

Some time ago I asked one of Europe’s foreign ministers why we should hold out any hopes for the forthcoming Annapolis conference on the Middle East. Had something changed to suggest Israelis and Palestinians would strike the bargain that has so long eluded them?

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The Gaza-west Bank Divide
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
(Editorial) November 16, 2007 - 4:10pm

It is now three years since Yassir Arafat’s death on November 11, 2004, and a good time to evaluate the prospects for Palestinian statehood. Perhaps the best evaluation has been provided by Arafat’s successor.

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In Lawless Nablus, The Law Changes At Sundown
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Matthew Gutman - November 16, 2007 - 4:05pm

Tawfiq Kalboni fidgets with some wayward bills. A moneylender in this central West Bank city, Kalboni, 42, owed another moneylender about $150,000. When he failed to pay, he said, the creditor collected on the debt, Nablus style. Five weeks ago, masked gunmen kidnapped his 14-year-old son from the doorstep of his house.

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Who Wants A Jewish State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) November 15, 2007 - 6:34pm

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has been speaking enthusiastically about "two states, two nations" ever since her conversion from the Greater Israel ideology. She can easily convince people why Israel must have a right of return only for Jews, while an independent Palestine would grant the same right only to Palestinians.

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Annapolis At The Crossroads
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) November 15, 2007 - 6:29pm

This is not the best of months, it seems, for Palestinians to undertake major steps because the record to date has not been very promising. If nothing else, there has been the deadly events in the Gaza Strip when about 250,000 Gazans were commemorating the third death anniversary of Yasser Arafat, last Monday. Seven supporters of Arafat's party, Fatah, were killed when surprisingly the police of its rival party, Hamas which is now in control of Gaza, opened fire on the rally. More than 100 were injured and about 400 Fatah supporters were arrested in this ugly encounter.

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Palestinians Aim For Agreement With Israel Within Year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rory Mccarthy - November 15, 2007 - 6:28pm

Palestinian negotiators want to set a timetable to secure a peace agreement with Israel within a year, according to Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior Palestinian official, who yesterday stressed that the bold agenda was "realistic". Abed Rabbo, a senior figure within the Palestine Liberation Organisation and a leading negotiator, said the peace conference expected to be held in Annapolis, Maryland, within a fortnight, was aiming at a renewed peace process based on a fresh approach to the US "road map" of 2003.

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Israelis On Us Mission Ahead Of Peace Meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Charly Wegman - November 15, 2007 - 6:26pm

Two top aides to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert flew to Washington overnight ahead of expected peace talks, amid reports of a freeze on construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Olmert plans to freeze the growth of settlements as a concession to Palestinians ahead of the planned US-sponsored meeting.

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White House Implores Organized Jewry To Support Peace Summit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - November 15, 2007 - 6:25pm

The Bush administration is making a last-ditch effort to push the mainstream Jewish community into action in advance of the upcoming peace summit. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made the pitch Tuesday in a high-profile speech in front of United Jewish Communities, the roof body of North America’s local federations of Jewish charities. The organization was having its annual General Assembly here. Speaking to 3,500 Jewish communal leaders, Rice said that “failure is not an option” for the upcoming summit, which is set to take place in Annapolis, Md.

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What About Hamas?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun
(Editorial) November 15, 2007 - 6:21pm

The Islamic militant group Hamas brutally put down a rally by thousands of Gazans who turned out this week to mark the third anniversary of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The demonstration was a tribute to Mr. Arafat, but more important, it was also a show of support for his Fatah faction and a strong sign of Gazans' growing antipathy toward Hamas. In Gaza, though, Hamas gunmen rule, and they may well become the uninvited spoilers of the peace summit planned for Annapolis.

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