Bush Urges Peace As Part Of Broader Mideast Vision
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - January 10, 2008 - 4:43pm

The thorny question of Israel's West Bank settlements has dogged President Bush's overarching message during his eight-day tour of the Middle East: Democracies must unite to confront terrorism. In language that is unusually blunt considering his warm relations with Israel, Bush has made clear his frustration with Israel's failure so far to deal with outposts, or unauthorized new settlements.

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Pa Takes Back The Keys To A Key City
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - January 3, 2008 - 5:45pm

Four young women from the Nablus neighborhood of Rafidiyeh went into a shop yesterday near the clock square in the center of Nablus. Dressed in the trendiest jeans and blouses, they were looking for fashionable leather bags. Two minutes later they came out empty-handed, disappointed at not finding what they wanted.

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Israeli Operations In Gaza Meet Little Resistance In Washington
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - December 20, 2007 - 4:46pm

As Israel stepped up air attacks on Gaza this week, the Bush administration refrained from blocking any measures or criticizing Israel’s activity. The Israeli Air Force last week renewed the practice known as “targeted killing” against members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in Gaza. Israeli officials have said in recent weeks that if rocket fire against Israeli towns is not stopped, further escalation might be imminent, including a full-scale ground incursion into the Hamas-controlled strip.

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A Second Win For Ms. Rice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun
(Editorial) December 19, 2007 - 3:37pm

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was as successful in passing the hat for the Palestinians this week as she was in persuading reluctant Arab leaders to attend last month's peace summit. She had to be because the limited progress made at the Annapolis meeting isn't going to be enough to sustain peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority without improvements in the daily lives of its citizens.

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Thanks, But No Thanks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Samih Khalidi - (Commentary) December 13, 2007 - 1:01pm

The Palestinian state has now become the universal standard for all solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The international community applauds the concept. President Bush proudly proclaims it as his "vision". The Israelis have come to it belatedly, after years of steadfast refusal and rejection.

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Building Momentum For Peace
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Washington Times (Opinion) - December 12, 2007 - 1:00am

In the wake of the resuscitation of peace talks on the Middle East achieved at the Annapolis meeting, security issues will be among the most crucial to building on this momentum.

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Analysis: After Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
by Jeremy Bowen - (Editorial) December 4, 2007 - 2:17pm

The sun was going down over Chesapeake Bay last Tuesday as the Middle East diplomatic circus left the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. The Israeli and Palestinian delegations headed for home, by way of Washington DC, and more meetings with President Bush. Since the summer, just getting to Annapolis and not letting the meeting become a disaster has been the main focus of American policy towards the two sides.

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Annapolis Talks Prompt Much Doubt, A Few Jokes, In Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Ellen Knickmeyer, Scott Wilson - November 29, 2007 - 4:55pm

A day after their leaders announced a new push for peace, Israelis and Palestinians returned Wednesday to a familiar and deadly routine, deeply skeptical over the timetable set for the talks and whether an end to the conflict is achievable at all in the current political climate. In cafes and blogs in the Arab world, the Annapolis conference prompted little more than wisecracks. Commentators made much of a linguistic coincidence: In Arabic, "ana polis" means "I am the police."

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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."

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Mushroom Soup On The Road To Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) November 22, 2007 - 10:44pm

There is something unconvincing, even insincere, about the tentative steps and gestures being made by the parties trying to arrange the meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, next week to re-launch Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. It is hard to generate any real anticipation from a process in which the principal Israeli and Palestinian parties are politically weak, the American hosts are imprecise and hesitant, the supporting Arab state actors are playing hard to get, and the agenda is as clear as mushroom soup.

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