Analysis-gruelling Road Ahead For Rice On Middle East Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Adam Entous, Arshad Mohammed - October 19, 2007 - 4:26pm

The battle over the agenda of a conference on Palestinian statehood offers U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a glimpse of the gruelling process that awaits if and when the two sides enter formal negotiations. The odds of ultimate success are slim at best unless the Bush administration, which once derided what it called former U.S. President Bill Clinton's "shoot the moon" diplomacy, can bring weakened Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take risks their predecessors would not accept, former negotiators said.

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Joint Israeli, Palestinian Statement Will Address 'core Issues,' Sources Say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid - (Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:47pm

Israel is prepared to make a joint declaration with the Palestinians at the international peace conference scheduled to take place next month in Annapolis that will address the core issues of Jerusalem, refugees and permanent borders, a senior government official told Haaretz yesterday. Palestinian officials demanded Israel commit to a timetable for negotiations.

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For Lebanon, Caring About Palestinians Means Protecting Its Own
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) October 18, 2007 - 5:43pm

A new report by Amnesty International has rightly placed blame for the especially onerous plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon on several doorsteps. Apart from the consistent inadequacy of the Lebanese approach, it also points out the failure of the international community in general - and of Israel in particular - to find acceptable solutions. It should be noted, too, that for decades Lebanese policies on this issue (like those in countless other areas) were constricted and/or dictated by the Syrian overlords who held sway over Beirut.

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Lessons From Camp David
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Moshe Amirav - (Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:40pm

Next month the US president George W. Bush proposes to host an international conference in Annapolis, near Washington, in the hope of advancing a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. The failure of previous attempts – in Madrid in 1991, in Oslo in 1993 and at Camp David in 2000 – highlights the difficulties. What have we learnt from these failures so that the same errors in judgment do not recur?

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Rice Upbeat On Mideast, Heading Back Soon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Arshad Mohammed - October 18, 2007 - 5:33pm

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday she was encouraged by her talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories this week and a U.S. official said she planned to return in about two weeks. White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley plans to visit the region next week to prepare for a U.S.-hosted peace conference later this year, said the U.S. official who spoke on condition that he was not identified.

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Bush Optimistic On Mideast Peace Despite Discord
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Steven Lee Myers - October 18, 2007 - 5:16pm

President Bush expressed optimism on Wednesday that the Israelis and Palestinians could negotiate a peace agreement as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ended four days of talks here with a spasm of discord between the sides. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, ducked to enter the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem during a visit Wednesday.

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Id Al-fitr Lost Amid Gaza Strip Closure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - October 17, 2007 - 10:55am

UNRWA, the UN organization that helps Palestinian refugees, was unable to keep its promise to give students at its schools in the Gaza Strip NIS 100 each with which to buy clothes for the Id al-Fitr holiday. Why? Because Israel would not allow it to bring the cash into the strip.

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A Us Peace Rabbit That Is Likely To Fail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) October 17, 2007 - 10:52am

What does it mean when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says it is time to establish a Palestinian state within a year, for the sake of Palestinian, Israeli and US national interests, and that, "We are not going to tire until I have given my last ounce of energy and my last moment in office" to working for a two-state solution?

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No High Hopes For Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Tamar Hermann, Ephraim Yaar - (Special Report) October 16, 2007 - 1:00pm

Some two-thirds of the Jewish public think that from Israel's standpoint it is impossible to go on indefinitely with the current state of relations between Israel and the Palestinians. A similar amount of Jewish citizens think that among the most urgent issues on Israel's agenda is the government's attempt to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

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Us 'wants Palestinian State Now'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
October 16, 2007 - 12:48pm

The US secretary of state has said it is time for a Palestinian state to be founded, and that the US will put its full weight behind such efforts. Condoleezza Rice said reaching a two-state solution was a priority for her and US President George Bush. Ms Rice was speaking from the West Bank, where she has been trying to get agreement for a peace summit in the US. Meanwhile the Israeli PM has hinted he may consider giving up Palestinian districts in Jerusalem in a peace deal.

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