November 22nd

Likudnik Hawks Work To Undermine Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Jim Lobe - November 22, 2007 - 10:32pm Despite near-universal scepticism about the prospects for launching a serious, new Middle East peace process at next week's Israeli-Palestinian summit in Annapolis, a familiar clutch of neo-conservative hawks close to the Likud Party leader, former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, isn't taking any chances. » Read more

How Rice Can Improve Her Odds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Daniel Kurtzer - November 22, 2007 - 10:31pm Condoleezza Rice is playing a high-stakes game of diplomacy. After cautious bets during her first three years as secretary of state, she is going all-in on a summit meeting at Annapolis to launch final status negotiations. Her odds of winning are low, and she knows it. But those odds can start moving in her favor if she draws the right lessons from U.S. diplomatic experience in the Israeli-Arab peace process. Having led a study group on this for the past year, the results of which the United States Institute of Peace will soon publish, we can offer the following tips: » Read more

If Annapolis Fails, What Then? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Leslie Susser - (Opinion) November 22, 2007 - 10:27pm Days away from the Annapolis peace parley, the glaring weaknesses of both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are raising significant questions about the long-term viability of the renewed peace process and the consequences of failure. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who may have wanted to use the conference as a dramatic breakthrough in peacemaking with the Palestinians, finds his hands tied by hawks in his coalition government. » Read more

Israel Prodded Into Settlement Freeze In Bid To Kick-start Peace Conference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - November 22, 2007 - 10:26pm With only days remaining before a peace summit scheduled for next week in Annapolis, Md., the Bush administration is pressuring Israel to take significant steps to curb settlement expansion in the West Bank. » Read more

Rice Defends Mideast Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Helene Cooper - November 22, 2007 - 10:23pm The Bush administration’s Annapolis, Md., conference on Middle East peace will tackle the entrenched core issues that have bedeviled negotiators since 1979, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday, pushing back against critics who say the conference may be just a photo opportunity. She said that she would try to broker a deal by the end of the Bush administration that would lead to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. She cautioned that there was no guarantee that she would be successful, but maintained that she knew what she was doing. » Read more

Term Limits ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The American Conservative by Daniel Larison - November 22, 2007 - 10:22pm During the week of Oct. 22-26, David Horowitz and an alliance of conservative organizations sponsored a series of lectures and protests at universities around the United States to draw attention to “Islamofascism.” Just in time for this “Islamofascism Awareness Week,” Christopher Hitchens penned a defense of the term. » Read more

Gaza Government Illegitimate, Say Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Angus Reid Global Monitor November 22, 2007 - 10:18pm Many people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank decry the government headed by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza, according to a poll by An-Najah National University. Only 19.3 per cent of respondents in the Palestinian Territories see Haniyeh’s administration as legitimate. Conversely, 45.4 per cent of respondents think the Palestinian government led by prime minister Salam Fayyad—which failed to win the confidence of the Palestinian Legislative Council—is the legitimate administration. Roughly three-in-ten respondents believe both governments are unlawful. » Read more

Bush Steps Up Diplomatic Effort As Annapolis Talks Draw Nearer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Robin Wright - November 22, 2007 - 10:15pm In a bit of last-minute diplomacy, President Bush called the leaders of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority yesterday to discuss details of the U.S. peace conference set to begin in Annapolis next week, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the goal is to wrap up a peace deal to produce a Palestinian state by the time Bush leaves office. » Read more

Doubts Cloud U.s. Talks Set On Mideast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Paul Richter - November 22, 2007 - 10:13pm The Bush administration announced Tuesday that it would hold a stripped-down international conference next week to begin negotiating the core issues that divide the Israelis and Palestinians, the first formal attempt to revive peace talks in seven years. » Read more

Shhhh: Mideast Invitations Are Secret ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Matthew Lee - November 22, 2007 - 10:11pm It's the biggest public event on this season's diplomatic calendar, but the topic is so sensitive that even the invitations are classified. Not that they need to be. The invites to next week's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., offer few details about the substance of the proceedings aimed at launching the first Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in seven years. » Read more