November 23rd

America Holds The Key To Mideast Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Anatol Lieven - (Commentary) November 23, 2007 - 6:37pm The absurd and tragic thing about the inability of the Israelis and Palestinians to work out a final peace settlement is that, compared with many conflicts, the terms of a settlement are not difficult to delineate and most impartial experts are agreed on them. They are as set out in a public letter jointly issued by the New America Foundation and other bodies. Key points are a territorial settlement on the basis of the 1967 borders and that Palestinian refugees give up the demand of return to Israel in return for massive compensation. » Read more

Un Official Says Israel's Siege Of Gaza Breeds Extremism And Human Suffering ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald Macintyre - (Opinion) November 23, 2007 - 6:36pm A senior United Nations official has issued an unprecedented appeal to British MPs to use their influence to try to alleviate the impact of "indiscriminate" and "illegal" Israeli sanctions in Gaza which display "profound inhumanity" and are "serving the agenda of extremists". » Read more

Demolition Decimating Palestinian Village ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Ramsey Ben-achour - November 23, 2007 - 6:35pm Al Walajeh village was once a quiet but busy place. Just four kilometers from Bethlehem and 8.5 km from Jerusalem, its rolling hills filled with fruit trees, natural forests, and blooming vegetation made it a prime farming location. Easy access to large and consistent markets led its inhabitants to relative economic prosperity. Life was good. Today, however, Al Walajeh village is a different place altogether. "The demolishing of houses is a weekly event here in Al Walajeh, " Sheerin Alaraj, Al Walajeh Village Council member, told IPS. » Read more

Time Does Not Favor The Jewish State ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Leonard Fein - November 23, 2007 - 6:34pm Habonim Camp Moshava, which I attended as a camper many years ago, was then located on Maryland’s Severn River. The landmark (or watermark, I suppose) was significant, since the Severn was frequently infested with antisemitic jellyfish. (“Jellyfish” are actually not fish at all, since they are not vertebrates. They have no brain, either, but oh do they have tentacles, which they use to sting and even kill.) » Read more

Airtime For Israel's Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Ken Ellingwood - November 23, 2007 - 6:32pm Maram frets that she's fat. Tony says men don't care how they look. Shahd thinks nose jobs are fine. It may sound like usual talk-show blather until you consider that the three commentators are preteen children. And something far more unusual for Israeli television: They are Arabs. Every week, Maram abu Ahmad, 12; Tony Khleif, 11; and Shahd Shahbari, also 11, get together on camera with an adult host to discuss, in Arabic, their lives and views during freewheeling chats that regularly veer into the minefields of politics and identity. » Read more

Needed: A Cease-fire With Hamas, Now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Yossi Beilin - (Opinion) November 23, 2007 - 6:27pm Hamas's victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006 and its violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in June were very bad news for those who believe in Israeli-Palestinian peace. But as Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization prepare to launch formal negotiations on final status -- for the first time in seven years -- Israel should seek to reach a cease-fire with Hamas as soon as possible. » Read more

Saudi Arabia To Attend Middle East Peace Meet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Mohamed Abdellah, Will Rasmussen - (Opinion) November 23, 2007 - 6:25pm Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Friday he would attend a conference to relaunch talks on ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a move that the United States and Israel hope will bolster the chances of its success. Saudi participation in the November 27 U.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis, Maryland could improve Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's ability to reach an agreement and help Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sell it to Israelis by holding out the prospect of wider peace with the Arab world. » Read more

Pact Unlikely Before Talks In U.s., Palestinian Insists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - November 23, 2007 - 6:23pm A senior Palestinian official said here on Thursday that it would be a “miracle” if the Palestinian and Israeli negotiating teams agreed on a joint document, as they had hoped, to present at the American-sponsored Middle East peace gathering set to start Tuesday in Annapolis, Md. But the official held out the possibility that a last-minute agreement on a short outline of intentions or principles could be reached in Washington, with help from the Bush administration, on the eve of the meeting. » Read more

November 22nd

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. » Read more

Proceed Steadily But Firmly ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah by Caelum Moffatt - November 22, 2007 - 10:41pm After seven years of stalled negotiations between Israel and Palestine, one could possibly not presume that all problems would be solved by one summit, let alone a summit that had been penciled in just as the two old enemies had reconvened dialogue. » Read more