Date
Type

4 Main Issues That Divide Israel, Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News
by Dion Nissenbaum - November 27, 2007 - 1:35pm

The clock is winding down on yet another U.S. president who's trying to broker an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has outlasted 10 of his predecessors and will be 60 years old on May 14, Israel's 60th birthday. The Bush administration has left the issue on the back burner for six years to concentrate on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has now invited Arab, Israeli and world leaders for a day of Middle East peace talks in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday.

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In Annapolis, Conflict By Other Means
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Report
by Robert Blecher , Mouin Rabbani - November 27, 2007 - 1:33pm

At an intersection in front of Nablus city hall, a pair of women threaded a knot of waiting pedestrians, glanced left, then dashed across the street. “What’s this?” an onlooker chastised them. “Can’t you see the red light?” Not long after, his patience exhausted, the self-appointed traffic cop himself stepped off the curb and made his way to the other side of the boulevard.

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Beyond Cynicism, Reason For Real Hope
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Orlando Sentinel
by Rafi Dajani - (Special Report) November 27, 2007 - 1:29pm

Few events in Mideast peacemaking history have been subjected to as much cynicism as today's Annapolis meeting. This is due to the perceived lack of planning in the lead-up to the meeting, mismanagement of expectations, and the reported gaps between Israelis and Palestinians over the text of a joint declaration at the meeting's conclusion.

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Bush: 'battle Is Underway For The Future' Of Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Michael Abramowitz, Glenn Kessler - November 27, 2007 - 1:25pm

Opening a Middle East peace conference in Annapolis this morning, President Bush said that peace must be pursued because "a battle is underway for the future" of the region "and we must not cede victory to the extremists."

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Israelis And Palestinians Try To Set Pace For Peace Talks As Bush Plans Speech
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper, Steven Erlanger - November 27, 2007 - 1:24pm

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators made progress on Monday toward completing a joint statement for the planned Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Md., and President Bush appeared ready to paper over remaining differences between the two sides with his planned speech on Tuesday.

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The Washington Post examines the challenges facing President Bush as he frames the Annapolis meeting in the context of a battle for the future of the Middle East against extremist forces (2.) An Orlando Sentinel opinion by ATFP executive director Rafi Dajani identifies realistic and achievable objectives for the Annapolis meeting in the context of establishing a Palestinian state (3.) McClatchy Newspapers analyzes the four main issues of Jerusalem, borders, refugees and security dividing Israelis and Palestinians (5.) In the New York Review of Books, senior Council on Foreign Relations fellow Henry Siegman identifies Israeli reluctance to define the contours of a future Palestinian state as the main obstacle to peace and warns of the consequences of a failure at Annapolis (6.) A Financial Times (UK) opinion by Gideon Rachman weights the opportunities and challenges for the Annapolis meeting and beyond while stressing the critical role of the U.S. in a future settlement (9.) A Telegraph (UK) opinion by Tim Butcher stresses the importance of political will by Israelis, Palestinians and the U.S. in reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace the parameters of which are well known (11.) A Gulf News (UAE) opinion by Linda Heard addresses the implications of a future shift in Israel's demography on the country's future (13.) In Haaretz (Israel). Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner touches on the three main points of the just-issued Annapolis 'joint declaration' (14.)

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