After Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
(Editorial) November 28, 2007 - 3:46pm


No document with principles for a peace accord was signed yesterday in Annapolis, Md., where envoys from 46 countries joined Israeli and Palestinian leaders and President Bush at a gathering meant to launch negotiations on a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. So the Annapolis event can only be judged by what follows it. If yesterday's meeting is to become something more than another missed opportunity for Mideast peace, Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans will have to persevere until they forge a just and durable peace agreement.


History, Mistrust Hobble Mideast Leaders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard Bourdreaux - November 28, 2007 - 3:39pm


The peace talks launched by the Israeli and Palestinian leaders Tuesday face a daunting array of obstacles. They will be overseen by two men who are weakened by extremists at home and speak for peoples whose attitudes toward each other have hardened since the last effort collapsed nearly seven years ago. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, controls only part of his would-be state. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition government faces a threatened walkout by right-wing parties that could bring it down.


Practical Steps Beyond Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Center For Strategic & International Studies
by Haim Malka - (Commentary) November 28, 2007 - 3:37pm


Israeli and Palestinian leaders seeking to resolve their differences in Annapolis may as well meet on the moon. Beyond the wide gaps on the core issues, the Annapolis framework ignores the harsh reality that Hamas is shut out of the process while poised to violently derail the entire effort. It is based on wishful thinking that so-called moderate Palestinian forces will be strong enough to overpower hardliners and enforce a final agreement. Though it has positive elements, the strategy is likely to fail. But progress is possible, and still within reach.


How Annapolis Helps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by David Ignatius - (Opinion) November 28, 2007 - 3:34pm


After watching President Bush earnestly deliver his benediction to the Annapolis peace conference, a caustic English friend likened the scene to one of the durbars held periodically to bolster the British Empire's rule in India. As with the long-ago gatherings of maharajahs, wrote my friend, "so the U.S. has convened its vassals from around the world to witness -- mostly in silence -- a grand event, the import of which is closed to them."


Starting From Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) November 28, 2007 - 3:31pm


The American-led Annapolis peace conference achieved the minimum — a pledge by Israel and the Palestinians to begin immediate negotiations with a goal of reaching a peace treaty by the end of 2008. We are encouraged that President Bush, best known for waging war in Iraq, has finally accepted the challenge of peacemaker. An agreement would give Palestinians their long-promised homeland and help make Israel more secure. It could also diminish the appeal of Islamic extremists and begin to repair America’s battered reputation in the Muslim world.


Analysis / Four Quick Points On Israel-palestinian Joint Statement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shmuel Rosner - November 27, 2007 - 2:04pm


Timing: Promising to conclude the peace negotiations within a year is the headline of this document. It is a challenge that should not be taken lightly. Both sides remember that deadlines are not sacred in the Middle East, and were rarely met in similar occasions. Nevertheless, they will try to meet this goal, paying Bush for his vision (the Palestinians) and support (Israelis).


What The Annapolis Summit Lacks Is Willpower
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph
by Tim Butcher - (Opinion) November 27, 2007 - 2:01pm


America puts on a good Middle East peace summit. It must be all the practice, but whether up in the hilly presidential retreat of Camp David, in the Rose Garden outside the White House or, as will take place today, in the grounds of the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, you can be sure of a good show.


Gaza Fears Israeli Push To Smash Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald Macintyre - November 27, 2007 - 1:40pm


Big Israeli armoured bulldozers, guarded by a stationary escort of tanks and armoured personnel carriers half-hidden in the adjacent sandbanks, were operating all along the exposed walk south on the Palestinian side of the hi-tech Erez terminal separating Gaza from Israel yesterday.


Annapolis And A History Of Abject Failure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Gideon Rachman - (Commentary) November 27, 2007 - 1:39pm


Last time I visited Jerusalem, I sat down with a colleague and tried to see how many Middle East peace plans and conferences we could list. Within a couple of minutes we had scribbled down Venice, Madrid, Oslo, Camp David I, Camp David II, Taba, the Rogers plan, the Annan plan, the Reagan plan, the Tenet plan, the Saudi plan, the Mitchell report, the Geneva accord and the road map. I have lost the beer mat on which I was keeping the minutes of our discussions – so I apologise if I have missed some out. But you get the general point. The record is not encouraging.


Annapolis: The Cost Of Failure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Review Of Books
by Henry Siegman - (Opinion) November 27, 2007 - 1:36pm


One of the first on-line responses to the publication of the letter to President George W.



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