America And Gaza In Darkness
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - November 1, 2007 - 2:43pm

Although the Bush administration may be on the verge of taking a big leap forward in paving the way for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement, brewing for nearly 60 years, none of the US presidential candidates have yet bothered to make any noteworthy comment about the upcoming Mideast peace meeting in Annapolis at the end of November.

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Old Rivals Team Up To Win Saudi Backing For Peace Talks On The Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Richard Beeston - (Editorial) November 1, 2007 - 2:42pm

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair teamed up yesterday to try to salvage a planned Middle East peace conference in America by clinching Saudi Arabia’s attendance. According to British officials, first the Prime Minister and then his predecessor met King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia yesterday. It was made clear at the meetings that the country’s participation was crucial for what is being billed as the best chance for peace in the region for seven years.

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The Siege Of Gaza Is Going To Lead To A Violent Escalation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Seumas Milne - (Commentary) November 1, 2007 - 2:40pm

There is, it seems, an unbridgeable gap between the western world's apparent recognition of the dangers of Palestinian suffering and its commitment to do anything whatever to stop it. This week the collective punishment of the people of Gaza reached a new level, as Israel began to choke off essential fuel supplies to its one and a half million people in retaliation for rockets fired by Palestinian resistance groups. A plan to cut power supplies has only been put on hold till the end of the week by the intervention of Israel's attorney general.

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A Mis-step On The Path To Middle East Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Jon B. Alterman - (Commentary) November 1, 2007 - 2:38pm

Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, is bringing the wrong people together in Annapolis, near Washington, in November. Belatedly deciding that the time has come for the Bush administration to put energy and focus into Arab-Israeli peacemaking, her effort to gather Israeli and Palestinian leaders and whatever other dignitaries will join her is not only too little, too late. It is also the wrong thing to do.

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Bipartisan Foreign Policy Leaders On Annapolis Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Prospectsforpeace.com
by Daniel Levy - (Blog) November 1, 2007 - 2:29pm

Below is the full text of a letter just released to President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as part of an effort supported by the U.S./Middle East Project, Inc., the International Crisis Group, and the New America Foundation/American Strategy Program. The letter is signed by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Lee H. Hamilton, Carla Hills , Nancy Kassebaum-Baker, Thomas R. Pickering, Brent Scowcroft, Theodore C. Sorensen and Paul Volcker. It is an initiative that I am very involved with and keen to encourage.

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Rice Tries To Close Gap In Middle East Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Sue Pleming - November 1, 2007 - 2:17pm

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets Israeli and Palestinian leaders this weekend to craft a joint document ahead of a peace conference but she has intentionally set expectations low. U.S. officials expect Rice's third visit in six weeks to the region will result in a document filled with general principles to kick off negotiations on a Palestinian state, but with few hard-core specifics.

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Summit Of Fear
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shmuel Rosner - (Opinion) October 31, 2007 - 5:32pm

n September 13, 1993, when the Oslo Accords were signed, president Bill Clinton called the day "a great occasion of history and hope." The ceremony's participants mentioned the word "hope" 21 times in their speeches. Even the normally dry Warren Christopher, then secretary of state, tried to produce some excitement, saying the negotiators' courage gave hope that they would "complete the journey that has been begun today."

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U.s. Ups Pressure On Israel To Quit W. Bank Outposts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid - October 31, 2007 - 5:30pm

The U.S. has renewed pressure on Israel to evacuate illegal outposts in the West Bank and has asked Jerusalem to broaden efforts to help West Bank Palestinians in the run-up to the Annapolis peace summit next month. During talks in Jerusalem late last week, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the U.S. expects Israel to take measures that will assist Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

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Rice Back In Middle East Carrying Many Hopes And Few Trump Cards
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna)
by Joe Macaron - October 31, 2007 - 5:29pm

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice travels on Thursday to the Middle East on her third mission to the region in two months amid dim hopes on resolving Palestinian-Israeli quandary ahead of upcoming Annapolis meeting. "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are engaged in an effort to produce a document that could serve the foundation for a serious negotiation for the establishment of a Palestinian state," said a senior State Department official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

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The Impact Of Closure: An Interview With Taghreed El-khodary
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Progress
(Interview) October 31, 2007 - 5:21pm

How will/will current path lead Gazans toward a two-state solution? As a journalist in Gaza, from what I see, all that people care about are the burdens of daily life. No one is talking about Annapolis, about two states. The suffering is extreme. The closure is so severe that it has touched every sector of the Gaza Strip, from businessmen, to farmers, to students, to workers.

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