Will Annapolis Fail Like All The Others?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
by Paul Reynolds - November 20, 2007 - 1:50pm

A veteran reporter on the Middle East asked me the other day: "Is it too late?" We had been discussing the prospects for the meeting in Annapolis in the United States scheduled for next week at which the Israelis and Palestinians are supposed to commit themselves to reaching a peace agreement. My instinct was to agree with him. We had first met in Jerusalem in the mid 1980s and have followed the ups and downs of negotiations since. The experience has not made us optimists. Aims of Annapolis

»

Un Aid Chief Attacks New Israeli Checkpoint Plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rory Mccarthy - November 20, 2007 - 1:50pm

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees launched a scathing attack today on a new Israeli plan for a system of checkpoint terminals across the occupied West Bank. Karen AbuZayd, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said Israeli authorities had told them of plans to install six specially built terminals to check people and cargo, including aid deliveries. She said it would hamper the agency's work and dramatically raise costs.

»

Negotiations On A Knife-edge Ahead Of Middle East Summit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald Macintyre - November 20, 2007 - 1:49pm

Israeli and moderate Palestinian leaders were last night struggling to agree a joint declaration intended to be the centrepiece of the international United States-convened Middle East summit less than a week away.

»

Where Is Jewish Support For Annapolis?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ori Nir - (Opinion) November 20, 2007 - 1:47pm

The call for American Jewish organizations to support the current peace efforts came from an unexpected direction: Israel’s Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger. For years closely associated with the right-wing National Religious Party, Metzger recently asked representatives of American Jewish groups in Washington to “influence the American administration” to do their utmost for the success of the Annapolis peace conference.

»

In Annapolis, A Middle East Peace Meeting Defined By Fear
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun
by Trudy Rubin - (Opinion) November 20, 2007 - 1:43pm

Thirty years ago, on Nov. 19, 1977, I stood at Israel's Ben Gurion airport as Anwar el-Sadat's plane landed on the tarmac. The scene defied imagination, as the Egyptian leader embraced Israeli leaders. Hope was in the air. Suddenly, anything seemed possible. Mr. Sadat's bold move led to Israeli accords with Egypt and Jordan and the tantalizing hope of a deal with the Palestinians. But over the last seven years, the peace process has virtually collapsed.

»

Israel Takes Steps To Attract Arab States To Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Scott Wilson - November 20, 2007 - 1:39pm

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, hoping to draw more Arab countries to a U.S.-sponsored peace conference this month, persuaded his cabinet Monday to endorse the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and restated a pledge to stop building new Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.

»

Halting Steps Taken To Frame Mideast Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - November 20, 2007 - 1:38pm

Israeli and Palestinian leaders made new efforts on Monday toward preparing a joint statement before an international peace gathering planned for next week, but some issues have yet to be resolved, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, met at the prime minister’s residence here to try to salvage efforts to agree on a short written text. The statement would be presented at the American-sponsored gathering tentatively scheduled for Nov. 26 and 27 in Annapolis, Md.

»

Israel Setting Tone For Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Abraham Rabinovich - November 20, 2007 - 1:37pm

Israeli leaders have taken to using a new phrase loaded with hidden meaning ahead of a proposed conference this month in Annapolis — "two states for two peoples." The phrase is a variation on the Bush administration's repeated calls for a "two-state solution," which implies Israel's abandonment of the notion of a Greater Israel that incorporates the West Bank and the Palestinians' abandonment of any notion of destroying Israel.

»

Race To Clear Air For Mideast Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck, Daniel Dombey - November 19, 2007 - 4:38pm

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators face intense diplomatic activity this week in an attempt to bridge differences ahead of a US-sponsored peace meeting intended to bring an end to six decades of conflict. In an early reminder of the obstacles in their way, the two sides are struggling to draft a joint statement that would form the basis for the meeting at Annapolis and for later talks.

»

Abbas Sends Team To U.s. To Narrow Conference Gaps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Wafa Amr - November 19, 2007 - 4:25pm

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dispatched top aides to Washington on Sunday to try to narrow differences with Israel and ensure wide Arab participation in a U.S.-led peace conference. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plan to meet on Monday in Jerusalem for the last time before attending the conference on Palestinian statehood, which senior officials expect to convene in Annapolis, Maryland, on Nov. 26-27.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017