Riyadh Gives Talks With Israel Cautious Welcome
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Mark Tran - October 19, 2007 - 8:35pm

Saudi Arabia would sit down with Israel at a US-proposed Middle East peace conference, provided it dealt with matters of substance, Saudi officials said today. The Saudi foreign minister, Saud al-Faisal, said Riyadh welcomed the American initiative after he emerged from talks with the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, who was in the region with the secretary of defence, Robert Gates, to bolster support for Mr Bush's effort to kick-start Middle East peace talks.

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Us Launches Broad Strategy In Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
by Paul Reynolds - October 19, 2007 - 8:34pm

The United States has embarked on a diplomatic strategy in the Middle East in which it hopes to rally support for Iraq, arm its allies, isolate Iran and launch a new conference for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. The strategy is being launched in visits to the region by the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

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Will Use 'non-military' Means To Attacks: Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Khaleej Times
October 19, 2007 - 8:32pm

Israel will use non-military means to respond to ongoing rocket attacks against it from the Gaza Strip, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Tuesday, hinting at a plan for sanctions against civilian infrastructure in the salient such as limiting the flow of water and electricity. ‘We have means, means which are not only military,’ she told a joint news conference in Jerusalem with visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. ‘It is our duty to take these steps.’

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On Two Fronts, Israel Faces Prospect Of Military Escalation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Leslie Susser - October 19, 2007 - 8:29pm

After months of talk of a "hot summer" with Syria and a long battle of attrition with Palestinian Kassam rocket launchers in Gaza, Israel finds itself facing the prospect of a major military escalation on two fronts. In the North, Syria has warned that it will retaliate at a time of its choosing against the alleged Israeli penetration of its airspace on the night between Sept. 5 and 6.

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Us, Israeli Diplomats Push Mideast Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Anne Gearan - October 19, 2007 - 8:27pm

Top U.S. and Israeli diplomats said Wednesday they would push quickly for a political settlement with the moderate-led West Bank in spite of the bitter internal split among Palestinians there and in Gaza. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said they would not squander what each called a rare chance for progress in the 60-year-old conflict between the Jewish state and the Palestinians.

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U.s. Supports Abbas At Expense Of Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Joshua Mitnick - October 19, 2007 - 8:25pm

The U.S. is beginning work on tens of millions of dollars worth of aid projects aimed at boosting the Palestinian economy and President Mahmoud Abbas at the expense of Hamas. Along a mile-long stretch of road leading to Ramallah — the seat of Mr. Abbas' government — bulldozers ripped up a street notorious for its crater-sized potholes and sprawling traffic backups at the Israeli military checkpoint near the Qalandiya refugee camp.

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Teams To Take Up Issues Of Palestinian Statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Scott Wilson - October 19, 2007 - 8:24pm

Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed Monday to form negotiating teams that would begin resolving issues central to the creation of a Palestinian state in advance of a U.S.-sponsored peace conference proposed for later this year.

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Israeli And Palestinian Leaders Meet In Jerusalem To Move Toward Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Steven Erlanger - October 19, 2007 - 8:23pm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, met Monday and agreed to set up a team of negotiators to flesh out their understandings of what a permanent, two-state solution would look like and require.

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Palestinians Pessimistic On Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Sharmila Devi - October 19, 2007 - 4:40pm

As a series of high-profile international visitors, including Condoleezza Rice and Tony Blair, traipse through the Holy Land, Palestinians are looking on with a mixture of indifference and despair. The US secretary of state and former British prime minister are spear-heading efforts to prod Israel and the Palestinians towards meaningful peace talks and reform of Palestinian institutions and economy.

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Arab Neighbors May Hold Key
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Leslie Susser - October 19, 2007 - 4:33pm

As the Annapolis peace parley rapidly approaches, some of the Arab and Muslim players expected to play a key role in creating conditions for a favorable outcome are proving to be more of an obstacle than an asset. Egypt, Syria and Turkey have been complicating efforts to hold what function changefontSize(id,size,line) { document.getElementById(id).style.fontSize = size; document.getElementById(id).style.lineHeight = line; } the United States envisions to be a tipping point in the long-dormant peace process.

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