The Us Should Submit A Dop
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Oded Eran - (Opinion) October 24, 2007 - 10:42am

It is too late to question the wisdom of floating the idea of a Middle East "meeting". The challenge now is to manage or minimize the potential liabilities and damages that may result from either holding the meeting in Annapolis without ensuring in advance even a limited success, or postponing it sine dei.

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Mideast Agreement Must Pass Israeli Vote
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Mark Lavie - October 24, 2007 - 10:29am

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has pledged to seek parliamentary approval for any significant agreement with the Palestinians, including the joint declaration of principles he is trying to reach ahead of a U.S.-sponsored Mideast conference later this year, according to a letter released Monday. Approval would be far from automatic if the declaration commits Israel to giving up parts of Jerusalem or other main concessions sought by the Palestinians. Hawkish parties in Olmert's coalition have threatened to bring his government down if he agrees to such steps.

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While Olmert Was Talking
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 1:29pm

Veteran activists of the left who have met Ehud Olmert recently report that the prime minister is determined to pull out from the territories and bring the conflict to an end. They say Olmert recognizes that a failure of the Israeli-Palestinian-American summit in Annapolis means a victory for the extremists of the settlements, Hamas and Iran. They say that were it only up to him, the prime minister would make a deal with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

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Back To The Iranian Arena
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn, Shmuel Rosner - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 1:28pm

Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona began his remarks with a joke about erstwhile movie star Zsa Zsa Gabor. After her wedding to her fifth husband, the guests had gone home and the husband was perplexed. I know what I am supposed to do now, he said to her, but as husband No. 5, I'm not certain I can do it in an interesting way.

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Lower Expectations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 1:25pm

On one level, the American initiative to convene a peace meeting at Annapolis marks a positive transformation in the American approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But on another, it reflects a continuation of the past.

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Annapolis Summit Requires Commitment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Progress
by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 1:14pm

Condoleezza Rice met with Middle East leaders this week to prepare the Annapolis meeting that has become ever more critical to illustrating the administration’s renewed focus on resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. Measures of success for the Annapolis summit are important, not simply for “grading” the session, but for setting up a framework to analyze progress moving forward.

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Skepticism, Anger On Both Sides Of Mideast Conflict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Rebecca Harrison - October 22, 2007 - 1:10pm

Israeli cable technician Elram Weitzman thinks the Palestinians deserve a state of their own. But he doesn't spend too much time thinking about it. "They should have their own country -- as long as it's not ours," said the 22-year-old from Jerusalem between drags on a cigarette. "To be honest I don't really watch the news."

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Why Failure Is Not An Option At Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by David Kimche - October 19, 2007 - 4:49pm

After the failure of the Annapolis conference two years ago, the two-state solution has finally been buried. The Palestinian Authority has disbanded itself, proclaiming that the official policy of the Palestinians will henceforth be a one-state solution, a democratic state with the right to vote for all its citizens over the age of 18. "The battle of the womb," they call it. "We will win through the womb. There will be a majority of Palestinians in this state."

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The Missing Link
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by George Hishmeh - (Opinion) October 19, 2007 - 4:46pm

The continued give-and-take over the predawn Israeli air strike at an unmanned Syrian site, reportedly a nascent nuclear facility close to the Turkish border, remains a mystery several weeks after it happened. Even the United Nations watchdog organisation handling nuclear issues, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has pleaded ignorance on the subject.

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Progress Eludes Condoleezza Rice In Middle East Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Richard Beeston - (Editorial) October 19, 2007 - 4:41pm

After five days of shuttle diplomacy, Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, returned home empty-handed yesterday, having failed to pin down participants, an agenda or a firm date for a planned Middle East peace conference. At the end of a punishing round of talks with Israeli, Palestinian and Arab leaders, Dr Rice said that she was “encouraged” by her mission, but admitted that serious obstacles remained.

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