Print Page - Israel & Middle East Peace Conference

November Peace Conference Israel & Middle East

Sunday, September 23, 2007

UNITED NATIONS - The United States will invite 12 Arab nations, including Syria, to President Bush's Mideast peace conference this fall, a senior U.S. official said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was outlining the expected agenda for the meeting, including the invitation list, at the United Nations on Sunday to representatives of an international coalition trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the official said.

In addition to the Israelis and Palestinians, those to be invited include the diplomatic group known as the Quartet - the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia - and Arab League states studying a broader peace deal with Israel, the official said.

They are Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.

They are members of a committee charged with following up an Arab League offer to recognize Israel in exchange for territory. Only two, Egypt and Jordan, have peace deals with Israel and some, notably Syria and Saudi Arabia, remain technically at war with the Jewish state.

Many Arab states have said they see no use for Bush's conference unless it has clear goals and a realistic chance of meeting them. The U.S. official said Rice believed she could allay those fears in her talks with the Quartet and the Arab League members on Sunday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Rice had not yet made her presentation to the Quartet, its new representative to the region, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Arab diplomats.

Before the Quartet session, Rice held separate meetings with Blair and the foreign ministers from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Asked after his meeting with Rice whether Saudi Arabia would attend the conference, the Saudi, Prince Saud al-Faisal, was noncommittal.

The Palestinians want the conference to produce an outline for a peace deal; the Israelis want more vague declarations.

Rice was in the Middle East last week and plans to return to the region soon to continue the planning for the meeting.

Rice's visit last week coincided with Israel's decision to declare the Gaza Strip, which the radical Hamas movement seized in June, as "hostile territory." That designation dealt a potential blow to efforts to bolster moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who now runs only the West Bank.

Meanwhile, Israel on Sunday approved the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners in a goodwill gesture to Abbas. Palestinian officials reacted with disappointment, calling for larger steps at a time when the power struggle with Hamas and peace process are at critical points.

The U.N. meeting will set the stage for separate talks Monday involving Bush, Abbas and Blair.

November Peace Conference Israel & Middle East (http://home.peoplepc.com/psp/newsstory.asp?cat=TopStories&referrer=welcome&id=20070923/46f5e4c0_3ca6_1552620070923-1150364211)

Arab leaders: ME parley 'waste of time'
Khaled Abu Toameh
THE JERUSALEM POST
Sep. 25, 2007

Less than two months before the US-sponsored Middle East peace conference is expected to convene, most of the Arab countries have yet to confirm their participation.

As is frequently the case, the Arab world appears to be divided over the event. So far, it seems that besides the Palestinians, the Jordanians and the Egyptians are the only ones who have hinted that they may attend the parley, scheduled for mid-November.

Arab diplomats based in Cairo said in phone interviews with The Jerusalem Post Tuesday that the majority of the Arab leaders believe that the conference is just a "waste of time."

As one diplomat put it, "This conference is intended to make [US President George W.] Bush and [US Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice look good in the eyes of the Arabs and Muslims. The two are just trying to show some kind of an achievement before they leave office. Why should we, the Arabs, provide them with an excuse by going to such a conference?"

Another diplomat said his government was not keen on attending the conference "because Israel has nothing to offer."

He explained: "If anyone thinks that Israel is going to offer the Arabs something new, he is totally mistaken. [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert is facing many problems at home, and he's not in a position to make a serious offer."

According to the diplomats, the Arab leaders are afraid that failure to achieve tangible results at the conference would play into the hands of Arab extremists, who are opposed to any form of settlement with Israel.

"Our governments want assurances that the conference will be successful," they said. "We want to go the conference knowing that we will return with something that will satisfy the masses. Otherwise, the Arab masses will chase us away with their shoes."

The Arab countries' fears were echoed over the weekend by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who said the conference must have a clear agenda and result in feasible decisions.

Mubarak warned that failure could lead to an eruption of violence in the Middle East.

"If they do not have an agenda, I fear the result will be dangerous for everyone," he said.

Meanwhile, Arab foreign ministers who met in Cairo earlier this week to discuss the planned conference failed to reach a joint position. "The Arabs are very skeptical toward any role the US plays in the Israeli-Arab conflict," said a retired Jordanian diplomat in Amman. "They would prefer to see the United Nations, and not the US, sponsor such a conference. The US is regarded as Israel's strategic ally, and as such, the Americans can't play an impartial role."

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said as much at the Cairo meeting.

"We have suggested that the Quartet should take the initiative for an international peace conference, or it should be in the framework of the [UN] Security Council," he said, adding that the participants at the conference should focus on concrete issues, not content themselves with diplomatic niceties.

"It [the conference] should deal with the establishment of a Palestinian state and not serve as an occasion for salutes or greetings," he said.

In Damascus, meanwhile, the government-controlled Tishrin daily said that the US must revise its policy in the region if it wants the peace conference to succeed.

"What is the advantage of such a conference if those who have called for it are not [thinking] to reconsider their negative policies in the region and define its supposed target beforehand?" the paper wrote.

Washington's aim in holding the conference, the paper claimed, was to have Syria and Israel normalize relations while retaining the status quo. It said the Americans continued to view "our pending issues illogically and illegally and through an Israeli perspective."

Arab leaders: ME parley 'waste of time' (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411489343&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Saudi FM calls ME summit 'encouraging'
Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 27, 2007

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister described as "encouraging" his talks with US officials about a proposed Mideast peace meeting, but stressed that success will be determined by commitments to tackle key final status issues, not whether Arab countries agree to attend.

The Bush administration, trying to revive long-stalled talks between Israel and the Palestinians, has proposed a November meeting to bring the two sides to the table, joined by other key players. It is eager to secure the participation of regional powerhouses like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which has yet to sign a peace deal with the Jewish state.

Arab nations, however, fear that without a commitment to discuss thorny topics such as the status of Jerusalem and right of return of Palestinians, the meeting will develop into a photo opportunity that could do more harm than good. The meeting's agenda has yet to be set.

"It is not Saudi Arabia that puts conditions, or Saudi Arabia that is going to negotiate," Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. "Its presence there, or non-presence, is not the most significant issue."

Al-Faisal avoided committing his country's participation, and made clear that he is voicing the Arab position. But the veteran diplomat also sounded a decidedly optimistic tone following a meeting with Bush administration officials.

"We have been shown a canvas with some brushstrokes that has nice colors in them ... but we don't yet know if it is a portrait or a landscape that we are looking at," al-Faisal said in the round-table discussion held at a Manhattan hotel.

Based on the discussions with US officials, "there is a sense there is something new happening and this is encouraging" if it turns out to be true, he said.

Al-Faisal said that discussions indicated that "the intent is to look at the final status issue - the important issues, and not the peripheral issues. This is encouraging. This is what we have always asked for."

Al-Faisal's note of optimism was mirrored in the Middle East, where the leaders of Egypt and Jordan urged Palestinians to set aside their differences and work for peace, reiterating that the US-sponsored meeting was "an important opportunity for achieving tangible results," according to a statement released after the closed-door meeting in the Jordanian capital.

But they also repeated calls for "adequate preparations" and said the summit must tackle the key final status issues.

"We think there is hope that finally the right approach to peace is being undertaken," al-Faisal said.

He reiterated that the onus also lies on the Israelis to show their commitment to a comprehensive settlement and that they are willing to take confidence-building measures such as freezing settlement building in Palestinian areas.

"It will be curious for (Palestinian) President Abbas and the prime minister of Israel to be talking about peace and the return of Palestinian land while Israel continues to build more settlements," he said. "At least, a moratorium on the building of settlements will be a good signal to show serious intent."

Pressed about what it would take for the Saudis to attend, al-Faisal argued that it was the United States, not the kingdom, that carried sway with Israel, and described as "a little bit strange" the notion that Saudi participation would make Israel more willing to come.

"We have the experience of Madrid," he said, referring to the landmark 1991 peace conference which Saudi Arabia attended as observers. "We attended every international meeting that came out of the Madrid process ... and did that bring peace?"

"It changed nothing of the position of Israel whatsoever. On the contrary, it diverted from the important elements of peace, which is that Israel has to make peace" with the Palestinians, Lebanon and Syria, not Saudi Arabia.

While the US hopes that Saudi participation will put the kingdom on a path to recognizing Israel, al-Faisal said this possibility is already outlined in the Arab peace initiative, which offers peace in exchange for territory.

"Recognition comes, but comes after peace, not before peace," al-Faisal said.

Saudi FM calls ME summit 'encouraging' (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411496599&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Abbas: Peace deal possible by May

Palestinian president says Israel, Palestinians could sign peace agreement within six months of international peace conference scheduled for November, which 'should define the principles settling the questions over the final status of the Palestinian territories'

AFP
Published: 09.28.07, 16:31 / Israel News

Israel and the Palestinians could sign a peace deal within six months of an international peace conference scheduled for November, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told AFP on Friday.

"The meeting in November should define the principles settling the questions over the final status (of the Palestinian territories)," Abbas said in an interview in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.

"Then we will begin negotiations on the details under a timeframe, which ought not to exceed six months, to reach a peace treaty," he added.

The leader of the Palestinian Authority, who has met with several foreign leaders during his stay in New York, said that the US-sponsored talks would open in Washington on November 15.

The leader of the Palestinian Authority, who has met with several key foreign leaders during his stay in New York, said that the US-sponsored talks would open in Washington on November 15.

"We have noted that the whole world is interested in this meeting and attaches great hopes to its success," he added.

Abbas said that Palestinian and Israeli negotiators would start to tackle preparations for the gathering in the coming days.

"We want to prepare a framework agreement defining clear principles and without equivocation that will serve as a basis for the settlement. Immediately after the meeting we will hold negotiations on the basis of this document."

Key stumbling blocks in previous talks between Israel and the Palestinians have included the borders of a future Palestinian state, the fate of the Jewish settlements, the status of Jerusalem and the question of Palestinian refugees.

"We, the Israelis and the Arabs, must make this meeting succeed," he said.

He said the members of the Middle East quartet, the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the follow up committee of the Arab League and certain countries from G8 and the non-aligned movement should take part in the talks.

The international quartet, which groups the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia, issued a "roadmap" for Israeli-Palestinian peace in 2003 originally envisioning the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

"We hope that Syria and Lebanon will also participate in the meeting," he added. The United States announced this week that it would invite Syria to the talks, but Damascus has expressed reservations about taking part.

Asked whether an agreement could be applied in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas took power by force in June, Abbas called on the Islamist movement to "place the interests of the Palestinian people above all other considerations."

"If the situation in the Gaza Strip returns to how it was (before Hamas seized power) we will be ready to talk," he said.

But a recent flare-up in violence in the Gaza Strip, declared by Israel as a "hostile entity" and where 13 Palestinians were killed this week by Israeli attacks in response to militant rocket fire, has complicated the task.

However, Abbas remained optimistic, saying: "Any attempt at sabotage is doomed to fail."

US President George W. Bush, who is organizing November's summit, met with Abbas on Monday, but made no reference to the gathering after the talks.

US courts Arabs by inviting Syria to peace talks

The United States' somewhat grudging offer to invite diplomatic adversary Syria to its Middle East peace conference is largely to provide political cover for other Arab states to take part, US officials said.

The Bush administration's most high-profile attempt to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace is expected to take place in November and the United States on Sunday signaled its willingness to invite Syria.

However, US officials suggested they did so with little enthusiasm because of their disagreements with Damascus over Iraq, Lebanon and its support for Hamas, the terrorist group and political party that rules the Gaza Strip.

The United States has long criticized Syrian influence in Lebanon, which US officials believe has continued despite the 2005 withdrawal of Syrian troops from its southern neighbor.

The United States also accuses Syria of fomenting violence in neighboring Iraq by allowing arms and fighters to cross its border and criticizes Damascus for supporting Hamas, the Palestinian militant group and political party that seized control of the Gaza Strip and has rejected the conference.

A senior US official, who spoke on condition that he not be named, said Washington had signaled its willingness to invite Syria chiefly out of a desire to get other Arab states to come. To exclude Syria would provide "an easy excuse" for other Arab states to stay away, he said.

"Others have to have them there or they would feel at risk that they didn't have the appropriate cover for their own participation," he added, saying the United States would not exclude Syria but "we don't cherish their participation."

"You balance the discomfort of their presence, because of these problems that we have with them, against the value of the presence of others," he said.

The United States disclosed its plan to include Syria indirectly, saying it would invite the members of an Arab League panel following up the group's 2002 peace initiative.

Not an easy decision

In addition to the Palestinian Authority, the group includes Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt. Only the last two have full relations with Israel, while Syria and Lebanon are deeply estranged from the Jewish state.

The Arab League peace peace initiative calls on Israel to withdraw from all Arab land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war; to reach an "agreed, just" solution for Palestinian refugees; and to accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with east Jerusalem as its capital.

In return, Arab states would consider the conflict over and enter a peace treaty with Israel; achieve comprehensive peace for all the states of the region; and establish normal relations with Israel.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Arab initiative would be a cornerstone of the conference, which the United States hopes will provide broader Arab backing for an eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

"So we faced a choice: Did you try and exclude a member of this committee, causing untold difficulty for others in trying to figure out whether or not they could then come ... or did you just say the entire committee is invited?" Rice told Fox News in an interview on Monday. "We decided on the latter, not one of the easier decisions we've ever had to make."

Rice on Sunday stressed that countries that attend should renounce violence and support Israeli-Palestinian peace.

The official who asked not to be named said he did not expect Syria to change policy on Lebanon, Iraq or Hamas.

"If they did something different that would be great but I think we are assuming that they will continue to misbehave," he said.

He also said the United States reserved the right not to formally invite Syria but did not expect that to happen.

Israeli and Palestinian officials said asking Syria to the conference could test its willingness to break with Palestinian militants including Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip in June and has rejected the U.S.-sponsored conference.

"That could occur. I'm not sanguine it will," the official said.

Abbas: Peace deal possible by May (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3454299,00.html)

Timeline of Israeli-Arab Peace Initiatives since 1977

Nov. 19, 1977: In response to an invitation by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to travel to Israel and discuss the prospects of peace between the two nations. [1]

Sept. 17, 1978: The Camp David Accords: After 12 days of closed negotiations between the Israelis and Egyptians at Camp David, the two delegations sign the Camp David Accords. This is made up of two sections: the first creates a framework for autonomous rule by the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; the second deals with the future of peace between Israel and Egypt, calling for a peace treaty to be agreed upon within three months that will include a full Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai. [2]

March 26, 1979: Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty: Israel and Egypt sign a treaty which calls for both nations to demilitarize the Sinai Peninsula; for Israel to withdraw to the pre-1967 border, giving up military bases, settlements, roads and the Sinai oil fields; and for Egypt to 'normalize' relations with Israel. Other Arab countries attack the agreement, and Sadat is assassinated by Muslim extremists in 1981. Nevertheless, the treaty holds. [3]

May 14, 1989: Israel's Peace Initiative: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin announce a plan for peace, based on the Camp David Accords, consisting of four basic parts: strengthening peace with Egypt as a regional cornerstone; promoting full peaceful relations with the Arab states; improving refugee conditions through international efforts; and establishing interim self-rule for Palestinians, including Palestinian elections, during a five-year period leading to a "permanent solution." [4]

Oct. 30-Nov.1, 1991: Madrid Peace Conference: The United States and USSR co-host a conference in Spain to set the framework to negotiate peace between Israel and Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians, the first time direct and open peace talks are held between Israel and these four partners since 1949. The three-day conference sets in motion bilateral talks between Israel and each of its neighbors, as well as multilateral talks, about issues such as trade, resource development and conflict-prevention. Ultimately, however, no agreements develop from the Madrid process. [5]

Sept. 13, 1993: The Oslo Accords: After secret negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians in Oslo following the Madrid Peace Conference, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat shake hands and sign the "Declaration of Principles On Interim Self-Government Arrangements," better known as the Oslo Accords. The agreement calls for the transfer of power in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinians, beginning with an interim phase, leading to self-government and elections among the Palestinians, and culminating with a final-status agreement in which a permanent Palestinian state will sign an end-of-conflict agreement with Israel. The negotiations phase of the Accords include Rabin and Arafat exchanging letters in which Arafat pledges that the PLO recognizes Israel and commits itself to peace, while Rabin states that Israel recognizes the PLO as a legitimate party in the negotiations for peace. The "land for peace" strategy is heavily employed in these accords. The Oslo Accords are carried out through phased meetings. [6]

Sept. 14, 1993: Israel-Jordan Common Agenda: After almost two years of Madrid Conference-inspired bilateral talks between Israel and Jordan, the two nations sign the Common Agenda which outlines the impending peace treaty between the two countries. [7]

May 4, 1994: Gaza-Jericho Agreement: In what is also known as the Cairo Agreement, Israel and the Palestinians outline Israel's initial withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and Jericho, as well as the creation of the Palestinian Authority. Although Israel is removing all of its forces from these areas (and later from Palestinian cities in the West Bank), Yasser Arafat's PA fails to meet the security conditions requiring it to crack down on terror groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. [8]

July 25, 1994: The Washington Declaration: King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin meet publicly in Washington, D.C. for the first time and take important steps toward implementing a peace treaty. The official state of war between the two countries is ended; each nation agrees to follow U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 to seek a total and lasting peace; and Israel acknowledges Jordan's special role in the oversight of Muslim holy places within Jerusalem. The two leaders also focus on future economic cooperation between Israel and Jordan. [9]

Sept. 28, 1995: Oslo II: The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, known as "Oslo II" or "Taba," broadens and supersedes the 1994 Gaza-Jericho Agreement. This agreement deals with many aspects of the transition to Palestinian autonomy, including how Israel will leave Palestinian-populated areas in the West Bank and Gaza; the provision for Palestinians to elect the newly established Palestinian Council; and the division of the area into three sections based on which group retains responsibility for security divided into Areas A, B and C. Israel also releases Palestinian prisoners as a sign of goodwill. [10]

Oct. 26, 1994: Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty: After a series of meetings, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Salam Majali sign the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty. The basic provisions of the treaty delineate the international border; prohibit hostilities between the two nations; agree upon water usage from shared bodies of water; allow for freedom of movement between the two countries as well as access to religious sites within Jerusalem; and formally normalize all relations between Israel and Jordan. Diplomatic relations begin Nov. 27, 1994, and additional bilateral agreements are signed in the coming years in areas such as environment, trade and tourism. [11]

Jan. 17, 1997: Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron: The redeployment of Israeli soldiers from Hebron, the last remaining Palestinian city under Israeli control, is orchestrated in the Hebron Agreement. The protocol is signed by Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This marks the first time Israel's Likud party government has supported territorial withdrawal in the West Bank (also known as Judea and Samaria), until then widely considered a Labor party policy. [12]

Oct. 23, 1998: Wye River Memorandum: U.S. President Bill Clinton hosts Netanyahu and Arafat to negotiate the details of implementation of Oslo II of 1995. The memorandum emphasizes the need for the Palestinian side to uphold its security obligations. In return, for each phase the Palestinians successfully complete, they are to receive a specified percentage of land (through measures such as Israeli troop deployments). [13]

Sept. 4, 1999: Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum: This memorandum addresses the delay in implementation of the Oslo Accords created by Palestinian non-compliance with security obligations and the subsequent Israeli refusal to redeploy troops in the face of a growing terror threat from Area A (which is under full Palestinian administrative and security control). At this time, Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak meet to reaffirm their commitment to the Oslo Peace Process and set a new deadline, Sept. 13, 2000, for the completion of peace talks. [14]

July 11-25, 2000: Camp David Summit: To keep to the schedule set by the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum, Arafat and Barak meet with President Clinton at Camp David. In an effort to achieve peace once and for all, Barak offers a series of concessions including Israeli withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip and 95 percent of the West Bank; the subsequent creation of an independent Palestinian state in the aforementioned areas; the dismantlement of all Israeli settlements in those areas given to the Palestinians; land compensation outside of the West Bank for settlements to remain under Israeli sovereignty; and Palestinian rule over East Jerusalem and most of the Old City (excluding the Jewish Quarter) and 'religious sovereignty' on the Temple Mount. In exchange, the agreement called for Arafat to declare an end to the conflict and a prohibition of future claims on Israeli land. Arafat rejects the proposal and makes no counter-offer. The summit ends in failure, but a Tri-Lateral Statement is issued delineating the principles of future talks. [15]

Jan. 22-27, 2001: Taba Conference: In the midst of the Second Intifada, and as a follow-up to the Camp David Summit, the Israelis and Palestinians meet for a final attempt to come to an agreement on a Palestinian state. Israel offers 94 percent of the West Bank in addition to Israeli land, culminating in an offer of 97 percent of the total land area requested by the Palestinians. The 'right of return' is also considered. However, the conference ends again in a standstill, and an Israeli-Palestinian Joint Statement is issued asserting that the two parties have never before been so close to an agreement and expressing hope for the future. [16]

Cont'd next post

March 28, 2002: The Arab Peace Initiative: Leaders of Arab nations come together at the Beirut Summit, where Saudi Arabia proposes a plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. This plan is known as the Saudi Initiative, or the Arab Peace Initiative. The plan calls for Israel to withdraw completely to pre-1967 borders; supports the 'right of return' for all Palestinian refugees and their descendents; and the creation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Arab states in attendance pledge not to exercise military action to end the hostilities, and state that if Israel agrees to the aforementioned stipulations without modification, the Arab countries will in return consider the Arab-Israeli conflict to be over and normalize relations with Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres responds to the initiative on behalf of Israel, stating that Israel views the plan as encouraging, but that the agreement must be discussed directly with the Palestinians and that no accord can come to fruition unless terror activities are ceased, a condition not mentioned in the Arab Initiative. [17]

June 24, 2002: Bush's Vision for the Middle East: In a Rose Garden Speech, President George W. Bush outlines a new plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, with the possibility of a sovereign Palestinian state established in the near future. This policy calls for new Palestinian leadership (specifically acknowledging the corruption and unwillingness to stop terrorism that characterized Arafat's regime) and a reformulated democratic government for the Palestinians. The president also calls upon the Palestinians, as well as other Arab states supporting or tolerating terrorism, to cease those activities. The plan focuses mainly on the impediments to the peace process posed by the Palestinians since the Israelis had repeatedly offered and acted upon various concessions for peace, and on greater democratization throughout the Arab world. [18]

Apr. 30, 2003: Roadmap for Peace: Based upon President Bush's speech of June 24, 2002 and principles of the Oslo Accords, this plan is supervised by the Quartet: the United States, the European Union, the Russian Federation and the United Nations. It calls for serious alterations in the Palestinian government and results in the appointment of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. The Roadmap, which charts progress toward a final-status agreement through a series of benchmarks relating to security and political progress, is still the official blueprint towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians, with the Quartet meeting intermittently to track the progress of the plan. [19]

June 4, 2003: Peace Summit at Aqaba: Sharon and Abbas meet in Jordan to reaffirm their commitment to the Roadmap. Sharon promises withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian areas, and Abbas pledges an end to the Intifada and the Palestinian culture of hate against Israel. The prospects of the summit are shattered Aug. 19, 2003, after Palestinian terrorists carry out a suicide bombing in Jerusalem. As a result, on Sept. 1, 2003 the Israeli Cabinet decides to wage war against Hamas and other terrorist groups, and halts the diplomatic process with the Palestinian Authority until it proves it is taking concrete measures to stop terrorism. [20]

Dec. 18, 2003: Fourth Herzliya Conference: At this conference, Prime Minister Sharon presents a plan for Israel's unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria in exchange for peace. The Israeli Cabinet approves the plan on June 6, 2004 and the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) approves it on Oct. 25, 2004. The disengagement plan, a major sacrifice for peace, calls for evacuating nearly 9,000 Israeli residents living in Gaza and the West Bank. Israel also proposes the disengagement plan in hopes of stimulating progress in the peace process on the Palestinian side. [21]

Feb. 8, 2005: Sharm el-Sheikh Summit I: Sharon meets with PA President Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan to announce the implementation of Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. Abbas and Sharon agree upon a ceasefire. Sharon expresses his hope that the disengagement will foster a step forward in the Roadmap for Peace. [22]

Aug. 15-Aug. 23, 2005: Gaza and West Bank Disengagement: In an effort to relieve the security threats against Israelis living in Gaza and to try to put the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks back on track, Israel unilaterally pulls all of its citizens out of the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank. This dramatic move costs Israel approximately $2 billion, and includes the evacuation of all of the roughly 9,000 Israelis living in the affected areas in addition to exhuming and transferring all graves in Gaza to Israeli territory. On Sept. 12, 2005, the last Israel Defense Forces soldier departs the Gaza Strip, marking a historic step towards peace by Israel. [23]

April 1, 2007: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's acceptance of the Arab Peace Initiative: In response to the March 28, 2007 Arab League Summit at Riyadh, Olmert welcomes the Arab Initiative, revised since its conception in 2002, and invites the Arab heads of state to a meeting in Israel to further discuss the initiative and collaborate on improving it. [24]

June 25, 2007: Sharm el-Sheikh Summit II: Olmert meets in Sharm el-Sheikh with Abbas, Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II. The leaders gather to discuss containment of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and to strengthen Abbas' Fatah party in the West Bank. As a goodwill gesture, Olmert announces the Israeli government's intention to release 250 Fatah prisoners who have 'no blood on their hands' and who pledge to renounce violence. [25]

Cont'd next post

Footnotes..........

[1] "1977: Egyptian leader's Israel trip makes history," BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/19/newsid_2520000/2520467.stm, accessed July 17, 2007.
[2] "Camp David Accords," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Camp%20David%20Accords, accessed July 17, 2007.
[3] "What was the Israel-Egypt Peace Agreement of 1979?" Palestine Facts, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_egypt_israel_peace.php, accessed July 17, 2007.
[4] "What was Israel's May 1989 peace initiative?" Palestine Facts, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_israel_peace_1989.php, accessed July 17, 2007.
[5] "The Madrid Framework," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 28, 1999, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/The%20Madrid%20Framework
[6] "What were the details of the Oslo Accords?" Palestine Facts, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_oslo_accords.php, accessed July 17, 2007.
[7] "The Israel-Jordan Negotiations," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 24, 2003, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Israel-Jordan%20Negotiations
[8] "What was the Gaza and Jericho Agreement of 1994?" Palestine Facts, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_gaza_jericho.php, accessed July 17, 2007.
[9] "The Israel-Jordan Negotiations," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 24, 2003, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Israel-Jordan%20Negotiations
[10] "What was the 'Oslo II' Interim Agreement in 1995?" Palestine Facts, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_oslo_accords_2.php, accessed July 17, 2007.
[11] "Main Points of Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oct. 26, 1994, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Main%20Points%20of%20Israel-Jordan%20Peace%20Treaty
[12] "What was the Hebron Protocol and Agreement in 1997?" Palestine Facts, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_hebron_agreement_1997.php, accessed July 17, 2007.
[13] "The Wye River Memorandum," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oct. 23, 1998, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/The%20Wye%20River%20Memorandum
[14] "What was the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum in 1999?" Palestine Facts, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_sharmelsheikh_agreement_1999.php, accessed July 17, 2007.
[15] "What took place at Camp David in 2000?" Palestine Facts, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_campdavid_2000.php, accessed July 17, 2007.
[16] "What happened at the Taba Conference in January 2001?" Palestine Facts, http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_alaqsa_taba.php, accessed July 17, 2007.
[17] "Beirut Declaration on Saudi Peace Initiative - 28-Mar-2002," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 28, 2002, http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Beirut+Declaration+on+Saudi+Peace+Initiative+-+28-.htm
"Response of FM Peres to the decisions of the Arab Summit in Beirut - 28-Mar-2002," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 28, 2002, http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/about%20the%20ministry/mfa%20spokesman/2002/response%20of%20fm%20peres%20to%20the%20decisions%20of%20the%20arab
[18] "What was the Middle East plan put forth by Pres. Bush in June 2002?" Palestine Facts, http://palestinefacts.org/pf_current_bushplan_2002.php, accessed July 17, 2007.
[19] "What was the 2003 'Road Map' for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs?" Palestine Facts, http://palestinefacts.org/pf_current_roadmap.php, accessed July 17, 2007.
[20] "Israeli-Palestine Negotiations," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sept. 7, 2003, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Israel-Palestinian%20Negotiations
[21] "Israel's Disengagement Plan: Renewing the Peace Process," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 20, 2005, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Israels+Disengagement+Plan-+Renewing+the+Peace+Process+Apr+2005.htm
[22] "Israel's Disengagement Plan: Renewing the Peace Process," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 20, 2005, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Israels+Disengagement+Plan-+Renewing+the+Peace+Process+Apr+2005.htm
[23] "Israeli-Palestine Negotiations," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sept. 7, 2003, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Israel-Palestinian%20Negotiations
"Israel's Disengagement Plan: Renewing the Peace Process," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, April 20, 2005, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Israels+Disengagement+Plan-+Renewing+the+Peace+Process+Apr+2005.htm
[24] "Paying the Price for Peace," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, July 28, 2005, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2005/Paying+the+Price+for+Peace+-+July+2005.htm.
[25] "Israeli-Arab Negotiations: Background, Conflicts, and U.S. Policy," CRS Report for Congress, April 10, 2007, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33530.pdf
Knickmeyer, Ellen, Washington Post, June 26, 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/25/AR2007062500283.html

PA official: We won't come to conference without declaration

Ahmed Qureia, head of team appointed to negotiate deal with Israel, says Palestinians will not show up to international peace conference unless a declaration of principles is reached. 'If document contains vague statement – it should not be composed at all', he says

Roee Nahmias
Published: 10.06.07, 14:37
Israel News

Ahmed Qureia, head of the Palestinian team to negotiate a peace agreement with Israel said on Saturday that there was no way Palestinians would attend the upcoming international peace conference unless a declaration of principles was formed.

In an interview to Saudi newspaper al-Watan, Qureia was asked what the Palestinians' stance would be if a declaration of principles was not reached before the November conference to be held in Annapolis.

"If that happens, the situation won't be good, and we will have to decide between two alternatives: To go or not to go (to the conference). The content of the document is the important thing. If the document contains vague statements – it should not be composed at all", Qureia said.

The former PA prime minister added that a Palestinian state without Jerusalem or the Gaza Strip would not be considered a state to Palestinians.

"There is no point to a state without Gaza or Jerusalem. All talk about a state without Gaza or Jerusalem is empty talk and a waste of time. The state is Jerusalem, and is not complete without Gaza".

Saying that agreements could not be reached in a hurry, Qureia said the Palestinians estimated that an agreement could be reached within six months.

The former prime minister also implied that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was displaying a serious desire to reach an agreement.

"I think that as long as he has appointed a team for negotiations, it means that he wants an agreement", Qureia said.

PA official: We won't come to conference without declaration (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3456788,00.html)

Abbas: Jerusalem key to peace

Palestinian president says Israeli, Palestinian teams to meet Monday to discuss principles for peace talks in November conference; says Jerusalem as Palestinian capital is key to peace deal. Former Prime Minister Haniyeh of Hamas urges Arab states not to attend conference
Associated Press

The Israeli and Palestinian teams asked to draft a joint statement ahead of a Mideast peace conference will hold their first meeting Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.

The teams are to write down the principles that would guide future peace talks. The US-hosted conference is to take place in November or early December.

Abbas said he expected at least 36 states to attend, including 12 Arab states, three Muslim nations, the permanent members of the UN Security Council and the G-8.

"We hope that the number will increase to 40 states," Abbas was quoted as telling Palestinian dignitaries from Jerusalem on Friday evening, during a meal breaking the dawn-to-dusk fast of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The remarks were carried by the Palestinian news agency WAFA and confirmed by a participant. Abbas did not provide a list of countries expected to attend. The US has not released such a list, or set a date yet.

In Friday's meeting, Abbas told his guests that a solution for Jerusalem would be key to any peace deal. Israelis and Palestinians both claim the city as a capital.

"Jerusalem has always been in our hearts, and the hope that we have been looking at," Abbas was quoted as saying. "There is no independent Palestinian state without Jerusalem as its capital. It is a concern in the coming, difficult days."

Abbas has met six times since the spring with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, to explore the chances of resuming negotiations, which broke down in January 2001.

Haniyeh urges Arabs not to attend conference

In the meantime, head of the Hamas government in Gaza Ismail Hanyeh urged Arab nations not to attend the conference, saying in an interview published Saturday that he didn't expect the gathering to produce any results.

"We are going to appeal directly to the Arab brothers, especially the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and will ask them to reconsider any decision to participate in this conference," Haniyeh said.

"The Palestinians did not build much hope on the previous Oslo agreements," Haniyeh told the pro Hamas newspaper "Palestine," referring to the interim peace deals with Israel, reached in the mid-1990s.

"Therefore, we are not going to build any hopes on the results of this conference," he said.

Abbas: Jerusalem key to peace (http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3456750,00.html)

US Official Hints at Delay in Middle East Summit

by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) Associated Press reports that a U.S. State Department official says that the Middle East conference, scheduled by U.S. President George W. Bush for late November in Annapolis, Md., might be delayed.

"This is going to take some time," the official said after Jerusalem meetings between Israeli leaders and visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. "This is going to require a lot of hands-on American diplomacy. These are really tough issues."

Secretary Rice, currently visiting in Israel, met with several Israeli government ministers on Sunday, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai of the Shas party, and Finance Minister Roni Bar-On of Kadima.

Bar-On told Rice that it was still too early to get into the nitty-gritty of negotiations for a final Israel-PA peace deal, as the Palestinian Authority demands and the United States would like.

Minister Yishai was more to the point, saying that Jerusalem can simply not be put up for negotiation. If his party in fact resigns from the government, this would almost certainly be followed by a similar walk-out by Yisrael Beiteinu, thus toppling the government and forcing new elections.

Yishai further said the PA is run by two heads - Hamas in Gaza, and Fatah in Judea and Samaria - and that the prospects of an agreement are very small. In light of the dangers of increased terrorism in the event of a summit failure, Yishai said, the summit should deal not with political matters, but with economics. He added that he would be happy to meet with his PA counterpart to advance the relevant issues.

Secretary Rice expressed a sense of historical impatience: "We've been putting these issues off for decades, and it's time that everything is put on the table and decided. The time has come for a Palestinian state."

Rice admitted that the PA is a weak negotiating partner, but said it must be strengthened. Acknowledging Olmert's coalition difficulties, Rice said she would not force him to take steps that are "not acceptable to Israel." She reportedly also told PA leader Mahmoud Abbas not to expect significant achievements during or before the summit.

The summit is scheduled for November 26, but formal invitations to the various countries have not yet been sent out.

Dispute Placed in Focus
The dispute between Israel and the PA was placed into clear focus on Sunday. Olmert told his Cabinet that he is making efforts to arrive at an agreed-upon statement with the PA before the conference, "even though the existence of such a statement was never a condition for holding this conference." Acting PA foreign minister Riad Malki, however, said straight out, "Without a document to resolve this conflict, we can't go to the conference next month."

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has been appointed to head Israel's team formulating the joint declaration.

Rice, whose convoy was held up for 15 minutes in an Arab neighborhood between Jerusalem and Ramallah on Monday morning while a suspiciously parked car was investigated, is here for a five-day visit. She will be meeting with Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian and PA officials.

Fatah and Hamas
Meanwhile, Abbas and his Fatah faction are trying to both renew contacts with Hamas, and to keep these efforts secret. Abbas has denied a report in the London-based Al Hayat newspaper stating that he plans to resume talks with Hamas following the summit. The two terrorist organizations have been holding secret talks regarding a possible renewal of official contacts between them. Israel has made great efforts to strengthen Abbas, with the condition that he not renew talks with Hamas.

US Official Hints at Delay in Middle East Summit (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/123927)

Palestine seeks India's participation in Middle East peace meet
New Delhi, Oct 24, IRNA

India-Palestine-Abbas
The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday made a strong pitch for India's participation in the Middle East peace conference that may be held next month.

"We hope India will be invited. In fact all of us will work for this. India's participation will be important for the conference to succeed," Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said during a brief transit halt in Hyderabad, capital city of Andhra Pradesh.

During his refuelling stop-over in Hyderabad on his way home from Indonesia, Abbas held a meeting with Prime Minister's Special Envoy for West Asia Chinmaya Gharekhan at Hyderabad's Begumpet airport, Indian national TV news portal reported here.

Gharekhan, briefed him about India's position on the peace process and renewed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's invitation to him to visit India. Abbas accepted the invitation.

Noting that India is an 'important and most progressive non-aligned country', Abbas said New Delhi could play a greater role in facilitating a lasting peace in the Middle East.

"Our demand is that India should be invited for this conference," Abbas, who assumed office in January 2005, said.

Asked what role did he envisage for India in the peace process, he said, "India has been our friend for a long time, helping us in all spheres including economic and political. We expect their help here as well."
Abbas said: "The dream of an independent Palestinian state could become a reality 'by the end of this year' if Israel and Palestinians succeed in reaching a negotiated settlement during the Middle East peace conference."
He added, "Insha Allah, we will achieve it by the end of this year if agreement could be reached."
Sounding positive about the peace conference, to be hosted by the United States sometime in November, he said, "We have started the process with good intention and are keen on finding a permanent solution."
Asked about the confusion over the conference's schedule, Abbas said, "Probably, it will be held by the middle of November. If we fail to prepare the document by then, it might be postponed by one or two weeks."
Later, Gharekhan said he had conveyed to Abbas the prime minister's good wishes and support for the peace process.

Asked what role India would play, he said, "If invited, we will go (to the peace conference). We are willing to help in whatever way we can."
Replying to another question, he said: "Palestinians have no problem with India's growing relations with Israel.

"Our ties with Israel are not at the expense of our support for the Palestinian cause which remains as strong as ever."

Palestine seeks India's participation in Middle East peace meet (http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0710243001185818.htm)

Qureia warns Annapolis failure will lead to war

PA's lead negotiator warns of failure to reach viable agreement in Annapolis, says clear timetable must be set for talks. 'We need support from Israel, not with kisses but with the evacuation of settlements,' says Ahmed Qureia

Atilla Somfalvi
Published: 10.28.07, 21:34
Israel News

The top negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala), warned on Sunday that the region would suffer greatly in the event that the upcoming Annapolis peace conference failed.

"If the summit fails – frustration will win out over everything else and it will have a negative affect on the region. I cannot predict exactly what will happen, but it may lead to more wars.

"I warn now against failure there, which will open the door for extremists and extremism – and that door will be very difficult to close," said Qureia at a conference held by Meretz activists.

Qureia said that the key to the success of the conference lay in reaching an agreement that would serve as the basis for any final accords, including a clear timetable.

His adamant insistence on the establishment of a timetable came in response to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's comments earlier on Sunday in which he said no detailed timetable would be made for the negotiations.

The Palestinians, Qureia said, will not settle for an agreement they deemed unfair. "We are not as weak as some in Israel would like to think. We will continue to work diligently to ensure the success of the conference. I came here to say that our hands are outstretched in peace and our hearts are open despite the suffering. I have come to express the hope of my people that peace is still possible.

"But we need support from Israel, not with kisses but with the evacuation of settlements. That is the real challenge."

'This is a historic moment'

The former PA prime minister also stressed the importance of implementing the first stage of the road map. "If we do this, then we will be in good shape. Within a week we will deploy Palestinian troops into Nablus – but if Israel tries to kill someone in Nablus or conquer Nablus – this will create a problem."

The Annapolis conference is an opportunity that may not return, he said, "we face many challenges and we stand on the verge of either success or failure."

Qureia said he wished to say to the Israeli public that this is a historic moment that cannot be missed and "that we refuse to miss. The pain and suffering have not driven away our hope for peace and we are determined to reach an honest and viable peace.

"We need wisdom and courage to seize this opportunity. Chances have been missed in the past and the price of missing this one will be heavy.

"But we are not starting from square one, we are beginning the negotiations with a far better understanding of our hopes and illusions – elements we were lacking 15 years ago," he said.

Qureia also noted that the negotiations enjoy the support of the international community and the Arab world.

Qureia warns Annapolis failure will lead to war (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3465058,00.html)

Saudis signal doubts over Middle East peace talks called by US

Ian Black, Middle East editor
Friday November 2, 2007
The Guardian

Saudi Arabia has signalled that it will not attend the Middle East peace conference scheduled by the US for this month unless there is significant agreement in advance on the core issues that divide Israelis and Palestinians.

But Prince Saud al-Faisal, the foreign minister, also held out a vision of normalisation between the Arab world and Israel - "not just the absence of war" - if the conflict could be resolved.

"We need a successful meeting. To be successful it must deal with the main issues of peace in the Middle East: Jerusalem, borders, the return of the Palestinians," he told reporters at the end of the Saudi state visit to London yesterday.

The US and Britain have been working hard to persuade their Saudi allies to attend the event in Annapolis, Maryland, although no formal invitations have yet been issued and there are signs the timing may slip. Israeli and Palestinian officials have been trying to agree a joint document amid fears that failure could trigger new violence. Saudi Arabia has led an Arab League initiative calling peace with Israel "a strategic option". Its attendance is considered vital by the US and Israel to create a sense of wider legitimacy.

"We have been negotiating for 70 years and we are still at first base," said Prince Saud. "This is now the oldest conflict in the world. It is becoming more rather than less complicated over time. We need to move expeditiously in a reasonable amount of time."

In a measure of changing attitudes in the conservative heartland of the Arab world, he characterised the conflict merely as "a border dispute [with] two sides fighting over the same territory".

But Israel, said the prince, had not produced "an honest proposal" on how to resolve it. "The Arabs have come with one: total peace for a total withdrawal, with all the security necessary for both sides, with full recognition: a peace that is not just an absence of war but a peace of normalisation, of open borders, of exchanges between Israelis and their neighbours."

Israel, he insisted, had to stop building settlements on occupied land. "It would be foolhardy for the Palestinians to negotiate a return of their territories while the Israelis are building more settlements. How can they negotiate when there is a wall being built that takes away much of the West Bank?"

An effort was needed too to reunite the Palestinians - bitterly divided since the Islamist movement Hamas took over the Gaza Strip last summer. "Peace cannot be made by one man," - an apparent reference to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and Fatah leader. "It cannot be made by even half a people. There must be some form of consensus among the Palestinians in this regard, as there must be among the Israelis who want peace."

Prince Saud revealed that his country and the other five members of the Gulf Cooperation Council had suggested setting up a consortium, possibly based in Switzerland, to provide enriched uranium to Iran to defuse its confrontation with the west over its nuclear plans. "They [Iran] have responded that it is an interesting idea and they will come back to us," he said. He warned that any US attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would further destabilise the Gulf. The only solution was for the whole region, including Israel, to be declared free of weapons of mass destruction.

Saudis signal doubts over Middle East peace talks called by US (http://www.guardian.co.uk/saudi/story/0,,2203897,00.html)

Rice says Israeli-Palestinian document unlikely soon By Sue Pleming
Sat Nov 3, 3:33 PM ET

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Saturday she did not expect Israel and the Palestinians would agree in a weekend of talks with her on a joint document for a conference on Palestinian statehood.

Arriving in Israel for a new round of meetings with both sides, Rice said "knotty discussions" on the paper, intended to lay down the principles by which a Palestinian state can be established, were still ahead.

"I absolutely don't expect there will be agreement on a document," she told reporters traveling with her, referring to chances a paper would be finalized by the end of her visit.

The United States has not officially set a date for the conference slated for Annapolis, Maryland, an indication of the difficulties in bridging gaps between the two sides on the paper that will set the tone for the gathering.

Both sides have said they want the conference to serve as a launching pad for negotiations on core issues of their conflict, such as borders and the future of Jerusalem and millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

But Israel has balked at Palestinian demands for a timeline for dealing with those issues, saying failure to meet deadlines could touch off new violence.

"The document is important. Annapolis is important, but there is also going to have to be a day after," she told reporters traveling with her to Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who will meet Rice on Sunday, faces stiff opposition within his own coalition to any concessions on borders or a division of Jerusalem as long as Israelis feel threatened by Palestinian militants.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet Rice in the occupied West Bank on Monday.

He is under pressure to show his people he can deliver an end to Israeli occupation and can also withstand a challenge to his authority from Hamas Islamists, hostile to Israel, who seized control of the Gaza Strip five months ago.

PROPER LANGUAGE

"It's between finding the proper language without causing either one of them political problems domestically," said a senior U.S. official who was traveling with Rice in Turkey, before she flew on to Israel later in the day.

"This is a very painstaking process which we need to approach with the right discretion," the senior U.S. official said. "But there is a growing urgency about this."

Both sides have said they want a deal before U.S. President George W. Bush steps down in a little over a year.

But Olmert has said implementation of any accord will be conditional on Abbas ensuring there is no threat to Israel -- a condition few Israelis believe he can fulfill with his Fatah faction weakened by Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip.

U.S. officials have said they hope to host the conference over two days in the week starting November 26.

Israeli FM Admits to 'Problems' with Talks
CBNNews.com
November 5, 2007

CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM - On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that "problems" still existed in producing a joint statement prior to a peace summit in Annapolis, Md.

"There is no tension, but there are problems," Livni told reporters before the meeting began. "There are differences of opinion over the Road Map. We must reach a basic understanding that the creation of a Palestinian state should occur only after Israel's security is established."

"The situation is complicated," Livni said. "One must understand that we have a shared interest with the moderates in the Palestinian Authority, and they need to understand that first there must be security and only then a Palestinian state," she said.

"The problem is not over making a joint declaration, but what its content would be," she said.

While the Israeli government is committed to reaching a negotiated peace with the Palestinians, it has refused to include timetables for PA demands, which include drawing permanent borders, dividing Jerusalem and resolving the so-called Palestinian refugee problem.

Rice arrived for her sixth visit in the region without the anticipated invitations to the U.S.-sponsored peace initiative, which has been postponed until late November or early December.

Livni purportedly told Rice hat any agreement with the Palestinian Authority must be based on the U.S.-backed Road Map, first present four years ago, which requires the dismantling of the terror infrastructure in PA-controlled areas.

The foreign minister also stressed that under no circumstances would Israel sign a document that compromises Israel's security.

Speaking with reporters traveling with her to Turkey, Rice said she is no longer hopeful the two sides will produce a document prior to the Annapolis conference.

"I absolutely don't expect there will be agreement on a document," Rice said.

"They are still working and, like with anything of this kind, they are going through some knotty discussions, and I think those knotty discussions are going to continue for awhile," she said.

Meanwhile, in their last meeting 10 days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' suggestion that the U.S. arbitrate discussions on the implementation of the Road Map.

Olmert, who is facing mounting opposition on the division of Jerusalem, met with Rice Sunday.

Israeli FM Admits to 'Problems' with Talks (http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/263516.aspx)

Mashaal: Annapolis a US 'distraction' for war

Hamas leader dismisses US-sponsored Mideast peace conference planned for later this year, saying it is meant to distract region as Washington prepares for attack against Tehran. 'Strategically, the US is setting the stage and covering up for the upcoming American war in the region,' he says

Associated Press
Published: 11.05.07, 17:01
Israel News

The leader of Hamas on Monday dismissed a US-sponsored Mideast peace conference planned for later this year, saying it was meant to distract the region as Washington prepared for an attack against Iran.

"Strategically, it (the US) is setting the stage and covering up for the upcoming American war in the region," Khaled Mashaal told a press conference at a forum of Palestinian intellectuals in Damascus, where the political chief of the militant Palestinian faction has his headquarters.

"There are preparations for an aggression against Iran, and could include other parties — Syria, Lebanon and Hizbullah.

Therefore, America is distracting us with a false game and is preparing itself for the real one," he said.

He spoke as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Monday in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Mashaal's rival, to prepare the ground for the conference.

The meeting is expected to be held later this year in the US to try to restart Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations.

At a news conference with Rice, Abbas said he was receiving "encouraging signs" from Israel that pointed to a "real possibility" for achieving a peace deal.

Meanwhile, Mashaal said he feared "voluntary concessions by the Palestinians and the Arabs" during the upcoming conference without reciprocal moves by the Israelis.

The Hamas leader warned Arab states to stay away from the conference and advised Abbas against making any concessions.

"No one is authorized to continue with negotiations like he wishes" while the Palestinians are divided, he said. "No one is authorized to give up an inch of land, exchange it or give up the right of return."

Mashaal: Annapolis a US 'distraction' for war (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3468015,00.html)

Thousands Demonstrate in Jerusalem Against Annapolis Summit
(There are quite a few pictures from the demonstration on the news site.)

by Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) Knesset Members, prominent rabbis and leaders of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) addressed thousands of Jews Sunday night protesting against discussions being held between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Quartet Mideast envoy Tony Blair, who represented the U.S., Russia, United Nations and European Union.

The mass demonstration began with a march from the U.S. Consulate to the King David Hotel, where the three were meeting to discuss plans for the upcoming U.S.-sponsored Middle East summit to be held in Annapolis.

Many of the protestors carried signs saying, "The Olmert-Abu Bluff Agreement Will Blow Up in Our Faces!"
MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud) spoke at the rally, saying, “Ehud [Olmert], Ehud [Barak], and Tzipi [Livni] are deceiving an entire people and leading all of us to the Annapolis trap while ignoring the facts on the ground.”

Steinitz derided plans to divide Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, saying that such plans “would bring bloody riots in the Old City in place of peace.”

MK Uri Ariel (NU/NRP) told reporters from the rally, “We’re telling Olmert: Stop selling the land of Israel, do not divide Jerusalem, do not even think of destroying Jewish towns, the land of Israel belongs to us, to the people of Israel. You have no mandate for this.”

Rice, Olmert and Blair, who attended the Saban Conference the same evening, were meeting to thresh out "a declaration of principles" to be presented at the summit that protestors said would include a return to Israel's pre-1967 borders, termed by the late Labor party leader Abba Eban as "The Auschwitz borders," due to their vulnerability to Arab attacks. Protestors also rallied against the proposed division of the capital.

Olmert is reportedly planning to release more terrorists --- this time with Jewish blood on their hands --- as another "good will gesture" to Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah gang leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).

PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has asked Israel to release 2,000 terrorist prisoners, but it is not clear how many of those Olmert will agree to free.

According to a source quoted by Haaretz, the prisoner release is needed partly "because in Annapolis there will not be solutions for the core issues." Since the "core issues" – such as the status of Jerusalem --- will not be on the table, said the source, the PA will need to show its population another accomplishment, such as the release of convicted terrorists.

Olmert said Sunday, however, that "core issues" will indeed be discussed in Annapolis.

Thousands Demonstrate in Jerusalem Against Annapolis Summit (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124145)

Israel - No peace before security

A two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians is now needed more urgently than ever, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said.

Ms Rice also urged Arab states to accept a peaceful and permanent home for Israel.

Israel has said there can be no deal for a Palestinian state unless its own security is guaranteed.

Ms Rice is in the region to prepare the ground for a planned peace conference in the US later this month.

But she said on Sunday that she was not yet ready to set a date for the conference.

Speaking at an event in Jerusalem, also attended by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and international envoy former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Ms Rice said the US would continue to work for a peaceful settlement in the region.

Mr Olmert expressed optimism that progress could be made on the issue before US President George W Bush left office in January 2009.

Earlier on Sunday Ms Rice met separately with both Mr Olmert and with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for talks.

At a joint press conference Ms Livni said that security for Israel had to come first before any deal could be reached.

Ms Livni insisted that progress could be made once the Palestinians agreed to implement their obligations under a long-stalled US-backed "road map" for peace.

"The meaning is security for Israel first and then the establishment of a Palestinian state," she said. "Nobody wants to see another terror state in the region."

Israel has been concerned about the takeover of Gaza in June by the Islamist movement Hamas, which does not recognise the state of Israel and is branded a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and the EU.

Low expectations

On Monday, Ms Rice will travel to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah group remains in control there.

Ms Rice is on her eighth visit to the region this year, hoping to inject life into the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. But expectations of her visit and the Maryland conference are low.

The Palestinians want a clear timetable for resolving some of the most sensitive issues in the conflict, including the status of Jerusalem and the borders of a Palestinian state.

Israel has rejected written deadlines, saying the whole process can be damaged if they are missed.

The former Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniya of Hamas, on Sunday urged President Abbas not to attend the Maryland conference.

In a speech in Gaza City, he said the meeting would not be in the Palestinians' interests and would have detrimental repercussions for the whole region.

Mr Haniya and Hamas have not been invited to the US-led talks.

Israel - No peace before security (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7077412.stm)

Brothers and Sisters,

I also say it's about a coming war - if not now - soon.

I also have very simple thoughts about what land belongs to Israel. Some will laugh at this, but I don't care at all. GOD describes the land that belongs to HIM and Israel in the Holy Bible. You heard me right - the land belongs to GOD! - and it involves GOD'S Promises to Israel. Mankind may temporarily encroach on what belongs to GOD and Israel, but GOD will set it right at HIS Appointed Time.

I, for one, hate to hear about mankind negotiating with what belongs to GOD. I would be a rotten politician on this issue because I see NO compromise at all for what belongs to GOD and Israel. It doesn't sound reverent for me to even talk about it. That's GOD'S Business and already decided by HIM. Who are we to question the proclamations, decisions, and Promises of ALMIGHTY GOD?

Let's go back to the other issue being talked about. YES - common sense dictates this was a council of war. Anyone following the events should be able to figure this out easily.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Isaiah 10:24-25 NASB
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. "For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction."

Isaiah 13:9-13 NASB
Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the LORD of hosts In the day of His burning anger.

Blair: Israel needs psychological shift
David Horovitz
THE JERUSALEM POST
Nov. 5, 2007

Middle East envoy Tony Blair on Sunday urged Israel to make a "psychological shift" from indifference and skepticism about the prospects of progress with the Palestinians to an active determination to "make it happen on the right terms."

He said Israel, which turns 60 in May, would "absolutely" still be here in another 60 years, but that "to guarantee its long-term security I believe it needs a viable Palestinian state."

If Israelis feel the same, Blair told The Jerusalem Post, then "the psychological shift that has to happen in the Israeli thinking is to move from saying, 'Well, if it happens, it happens, but frankly I'm skeptical about the whole thing,' to saying, 'Okay, I'm going to try and make it happen.'"

He said he was "sure that the Prime Minister [Ehud Olmert] is absolutely up for it. I've got no doubt about that at all. The next few weeks will tell whether everyone is prepared to get behind that."

At the same time, however, Blair stressed Israel should not "yield" at all on security. And he stopped short of expressing full confidence that the Palestinian leadership, under Mahmoud Abbas, was capable of carrying out the necessary reform to meet Israel's vital security needs.

It was "not impossible" for the Palestinians to transform themselves into the kind of "stable partner for Israel" that Jordan constitutes, he said. But the new Palestinian leadership is living "with a very long legacy from the past," Blair said, in a reference to the Yasser Arafat era. The question for Abbas and his colleagues was, "Do they break out of that whole mindset? Do they regard themselves as people who are going to take the risks, shoulder the responsibility and get it done or not?... All I say to Israelis," he went on, "is, well, put it to the test... What is the alternative?" Blair said he fully understood that Israel's mistrust of the Palestinian leadership was a consequence of bitter experience. Indeed, he had been telling critics of Israel that, in the light of what went wrong in the Oslo years and in the wake of the Gaza disengagement, he too, were he leading Israel, would be wary of dramatic territorial withdrawal and giving the Palestinians' statehood. "When you're saying to [Israel], 'We now want you to pull out of everywhere and give [the Palestinians] a state, you know, any of us who were in the shoes of the Israeli prime minister or any Israeli minister would be saying 'Whoa.'"

Nonetheless, he went on, "the danger in this situation, if I can be very blunt about it, is that you say 'There have been 60 years of failure of negotiation and therefore it's always going to fail,' whereas actually sometimes things aren't like that. And to be fair to this Palestinian leadership, as I keep emphasizing, they're living with the legacy of a certain type of politics and you don't escape from that immediately."

Asked whether Abbas was prepared to renounce the "right of return" and to take other viable final status positions, the former British prime minister said, "It's not for me to negotiate for Abbas, but I think Abbas knows exactly what he needs to do to have a proper final status negotiation." He added that the respective final-status positions of the two sides were such that "it is possible to see how an agreement could be reached... In my view the Palestinians are prepared to be realistic, sensible and focused in agreeing those terms in the final status negotiations."

Crucial though he considered the diplomatic track leading to the planned Annapolis gathering, Blair stressed that an international donors conference scheduled for Paris in December was "every bit as important," since it is there that the Palestinians are supposed to produce "a medium-term strategy" for reform of their security and other institutions.

Blair, 54, who has been making frequent visits to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders since taking up the post of Quartet envoy in June, was interviewed by the Post during a whirlwind 24-hour trip. While much of the conversation naturally focused on his efforts to work with the Palestinians on institution-building, his primary task as envoy, he also set out hard-hitting positions on the battle against Islamic extremism, the root causes of terror, and the need to stand firm against Iran.

He stressed that he did not believe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the cause of attacks such as the 2005 London public transport bombings, and neither were the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This terrorism is not our fault," he said. It needed to be fought through a combination of military action where necessary and "a galvanizing idea that is more powerful" than the extremists' message. "And that idea is not simply about freedom and democracy, though it should be about that, but also about justice," he said.

"The trouble with a large part of the Western world is that we're in a state of semi-apology the whole time, and that's an absolutely hopeless position from which to take this thing on... A large part of public opinion in the West is basically saying, 'We have caused this. It's our fault they're like this.' I just think that's nonsense."

He said he had personally found himself "in profound disagreement with a large part of public opinion" in Britain on this, "which is tough." But he felt it was better to hold to his positions than to embrace what he considered misguided policies. "If you look at the posture of much of the Western world on Iraq and Afghanistan," he said, "it is, 'If you come after us really, really hard, we'll give up.' I mean, how do you win a battle from that perspective?"

Blair said he was "completely on the hard side of the argument in terms of staying the course" in Iraq and in the wider battle against terrorism. This was why, he said, "I get your security situation completely. If I was you, I would not yield on security at all. That's not my point. My point is a different one: If a Palestinian state is ultimately in your long-term interest for reasons of security, you should try and make it happen on the right terms."

As for Iran, Blair was blunt: "The tougher we are, actually the easier it will be... What they need to know is that the international community is united, strong and determined that they should not have a nuclear weapons capability and they should not continue to support terrorism."

Blair: Israel needs psychological shift (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380734426&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Syria rejects Annapolis invitation
Jpost.com staff and AP , THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 6, 2007

Syria has rejected the latest appeals from Israel to attend the US-sponsored Annapolis peace conference and will only go if the return of the Golan Heights is on the agenda, the country's deputy leader said in London on Tuesday.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Dardari said Syria will not budge in its insistence that its participation in the conference in Annapolis, Maryland, hinges on the opportunity to discuss the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday they wanted Syria to participate in the conference, but only on condition they set aside Syrian-Israeli issues.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday urged Syria to attend, saying the meeting could be a launching pad for new talks between the two foes.

Following a meeting with President Shimon Peres on Tuesday, Olmert said Syrian participation in the conference "would be fitting," adding that it was scheduled to take place during the last week of November. Olmert expressed hope that, should talks with the Palestinians be successful, it would pave the way for a similar process with Syria.

But in an interview in London, Dardari rejected refused the offer. "We have occupied lands - and that is the Golan Heights. For Syria to attend any such meeting requires that the Golan Heights issue is clearly on the agenda."

"We have not received any official invitation and a formal invitation should be attached to an agenda that clearly states the Golan Heights issue will be discussed at that meeting, Dardari said.

Meanwhile, Peres on Tuesday expressed optimism as to the conference's chances of success. In a press conference following a meeting with Olmert, Peres said the talks were "different from Oslo, when the Americans were not involved. No one is forcing Israel's hand today, or doubting its desire for peace."

During the press conference, Olmert said that after the Annapolis parley, negotiations with the Palestinians would begin on all core issues, adding that implementation would be based on the road map peace plan. "Both sides are obligated to take certain steps. We are prepared to fulfill all of our obligations in order to move forward," he said.

Peres said the conference would be a great opportunity. "I've had a chance to speak with Arab leaders and have felt a spirit of trust and optimism. This isn't a bad start at all, better than one could have hoped for," he said, adding that this did not mean everything would be solved instantly.

Peres said he welcomed the coordination between what he called "the deciding triangle": Washington, Jerusalem and Ramallah. "Anyone who takes a good look at the statements can see it," he said.

Olmert added that invitations to participants had not yet been sent out.

Peres and Olmert also addressed the president's upcoming official visit to Ankara.

Turkey "could play a vital role in the peace process," Peres said. He noted that Turkey had expressed interest in establishing industrial zones in Jenin, Jericho and Tarkumiya. Olmert called the trip, the first time an Israeli president would address the Turkish parliament, "historic".

During his visit, Peres is also expected to conduct joint discussions with the Turkish prime minister and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Syria rejects Annapolis invitation (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380748852&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

'Israel ready to go far at Annapolis'
JPost staff, AP and sheera claire frenkel , THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 6, 2007

"Israel is prepared to go very far at the Annapolis conference," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday.

During the Middle East conference, Barak said, "Israel is going to seek important agreements that would require the Palestinians to implement the first stage of the road map."

"This includes dismantling all terrorist organizations," said the defense minister, adding that "the demand to dismantle terror camps extends to Gaza as well." Barak hinted that Fatah might need to go into the Strip to confront Hamas head on.

Regarding a possible large-scale IDF operation in Gaza, Barak said that although the time had not yet come for such a mission, "at some point sooner or later, we will have to engage in such an operation if Kassam rocket fire and weapons smuggling continue as they have of late."

Barak said Israel had the ability to enter Gaza and operate there using all military options, indicating that in a possible confrontation, the IDF would not hesitate to use the air force, ground forces and perhaps even the Israel Navy.

"Every day that passes," Barak added, "brings Israel closer to being forced to confront the terror threat from Gaza."

Barak also said he wanted to try and find a way to make Syria part of the Annapolis conference.

Meanwhile, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen. Yosef Mishlav told the FADC that Israel might implement a new plan to stop the flow of cooking gas to Gaza, and also lower the voltage of the electricity provided to the Strip, instead of cutting off electricity altogether.

The conference is set to take place in the last week of November, according to a senior official in the entourage of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "In the Middle East anything is possible, but we are progressing according to the planned timetable," the official added while speaking to reporters in Ramallah on Monday night.

In related news, a document composed by the Reut Institute for Policy Planning Has cautioned from a breakdown in the peace process. According to the institute, Israeli leaders are not thinking of the 'day after' Annapolis and underestimate the price of failure. It further recommends that Israel draw 'day after' scenarios and courses of operation, among them the possibility of Marwan Barghouti as backup to the current Palestinian leadership.

The document, due to be presented at a conference in Sapir College on Tuesday morning, estimates that the Israelis and Palestinians will not succeed in formulating a joint declaration that will be acceptable to both sides. This, the Reut Institute claims, is likely to lead to Hamas taking control of the West Bank and the international community abandoning its vision of "Two states for two nations." Israel wants a watered down agreement but the Palestinians seek a substantial one, it concludes.

Meanwhile, Palestinian sources said that the US government would formulate a memorandum of understanding between Israel and the Palestinians that will be presented at the conference, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported Tuesday.

According to the London-based newspaper, Rice and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreed that the secretary of state would bring the document for the two sides to examine on her next visit to the region.

The document will reportedly seek to bridge the gaps between the two sides and will be used as a basis to end the conflict before the end of US President George Bush's term.

Also Tuesday, senior Hamas official in Gaza Halil Abu Leileh said that the group would do everything within its power to torpedo the Annapolis conference.

"It is clear to Hamas that the Palestinian side will make concessions for the Palestinian people and compromise their principles," he told BBC Arabic.

Overnight Monday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that Israel was not trying to evade a discussion of the most sensitive core issues.

Speaking to a forum of European Union and Mediterranean nation foreign ministers in Lisbon, the foreign minister said that Israel had decided to allow the Annapolis conference to be an opportunity to bridge the gap between it and the Palestinians, adding that it was clear that on the day after the parley, serious negotiations must begin.

However, Livni tied the possibility of dialogue with the Palestinians' ability to rein in terror. She said that discourse was already underway, but the path to establishing a Palestinian state was dependent on Israel's ability to give the keys to a responsible authority that can control the territory and assure that the state that is established is not a terror state.

Speaking directly to Arab delegates present in the forum, the foreign minister called on the Arab world to collectively assist the process. She said that the Arab world should convey to its public and to the Israeli public that processes currently unfolding could affect the entire region. A different, correct behavior on their side could have brought a different outcome, she continued, like the Palestinians celebrating 60 years of independence, or at least seven years of having a state.

Livni also told delegates from Egypt, Syria and Lebanon that the Arab world should come to the conference unconditionally and support any decision and any compromises the Palestinians make - instead of dictating the end result in advance.

'Israel ready to go far at Annapolis' (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380746801&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Israeli rabbis warn Bush of disaster if Annapolis not canceled
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 5, 2007

A group of rabbis from Israel have sent a letter to US President George W. Bush warning him that if the planned Annapolis Middle East parley is not cancelled, a disaster will befall US citizens, just as Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans after Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip in August 2005.

Among the rabbis who signed the letter were Kiryat Arba-Hebron Chief Rabbi Dov Lior, Chabad Rabbi Meir Druckman of Kiryat Motzkin, and Rabbi Dov Wolfa.

Israeli rabbis warn Bush of disaster if Annapolis not canceled (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380737680&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)
~~~~~~~~~~

Rabbis Invited For Pre-Annapolis Temple Mount Talks

by Ezra HaLevi

(IsraelNN.com) Israel’s Chief Rabbis and the Chief Rabbi of Haifa have been invited to the White House for pre-Annapolis talks to explain the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount.

Chief Rabbis Yonah Metzger and Shlomo Amar, as well as the Chief Rabbi of Haifa and Chairman of the Chief Rabbinate Communications Committee Rabbi She'ar-Yashuv Cohen departed Saturday evening for a series of meetings to clarify to US leaders that the Temple Mount is Judaism's holiest site.

Ahead of the Annapolis Conference, the Bush administration is trying to gauge Israel’s “red lines” and examine the possibility of relinquishing the Temple Mount to Islam.

Despite the fact that many rabbis both visit and encourage other Jews to visit the Temple Mount in the manner permitted by Jewish law, the chief rabbinate says that Jews should not visit the Temple Mount. A large sign is affixed to the path leading to the Mount saying it is “forbidden for Jews to visit the Mount according to Jewish law.”

All three rabbis agree that the Temple Mount must remain under Jewish sovereignty. However, the chief rabbis believe the mount should be closed to all since a special level of ritual purity must be obtained before ascending to the site of the Jewish Holy Temple. Rabbi Cohen believes the Temple Mount should be open to Jewish worship and a synagogue should be constructed there.

Second Such Meeting
Arutz-7's Yedidya HaCohen reports that a secret meeting on the matter took place two weeks ago during one of the recent visits by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Jerusalem. The meeting dealt with Jerusalem’s holy sites and was attended by Rabbi Cohen, as well as Muslim and Christian religious leaders. The meeting lasted over two hours.

Muslim leaders aired their claim that “the Jews want to destroy the Al-Aksa Mosques” and their oft-heard denial that there was ever a Jewish temple at the site. The chief Mufti has already declared that Jews should not be allowed to pray at the site. Recent archaological finds from the First Temple have not tempered Muslim denial of pre-Islamic history on the mount, as well as the Western Wall.

Rabbi Cohen responded to those present: “It is forbidden to deny that the Jews had our Holy Temple at that site. It is forbidden to forget that King David purchased the Temple Mount, King Solomon built the Holy Temple and Ezra the Scribe rebuilt it as well [after it was destroyed –ed.]. All who come afterward must recognize the rights of those who came first. Although I do not propose the demolition of the mosques, the Muslims must remember that they are there due to us.”

Rabbi Cohen also recalled the historical fact that the Muslim Caliph Omar Suleiman built a synagogue on the Temple Mount where Jews prayed, and that it was later destroyed by another Caliph.

In summation, Rabbi Cohen told Rice and the other religious leaders that he is completely opposed to any withdrawal from the Temple Mount and site of the Holy Temple.

Rice reportedly responded: “Honorable rabbi, I understand you well. I am the daughter of a priest and the granddaughter of a priest, I learned the Bible and know what is written there.”

Rice said, at the conclusion of the meeting, that she understood that religious matters were at the root of the disagreements ahead of the conference. “If this matter is not solved, then nothing will be solved,” she said. Those at the meeting reported her demeanor as tense.

As a follow-up, the invitations to the Chief Rabbis to the White House for three days of meetings were issued. The meetings, which will be attended by members of the Islamic Wakf and Christian leaders, will reportedly deal with a proposal similar to that floated by Vice Premier Chaim Ramon (Kadima). According to the proposal, the Jerusalem “Holy Basin” – meaning the Old City and surrounding areas – would be administered by a joint committee and not remain under Israeli sovereignty. According to Ramon’s plan, the Western Wall and Temple Mount would remain under Israeli control, but the Americans are reportedly pushing to see the Temple Mount relinquished as well.

Sources connected to the Chief Rabbinate say there is great significance to the inclusion of Rabbi She'ar-Yashuv Cohen, who has declared publicly that he will fight such a plan and not just take part in the inter-religious arrangements being planned for the Holy City. Rabbi Cohen’s position that the Temple Mount must be opened to Jewish prayer is well known, as well as his call for the establishment of a synagogue on the Mount.

Also joining the rabbinic delegation are Chairman of the Chief Rabbinate Oded Weiner and Rabbi David Rosen, former chief rabbi of Ireland and the head of the World Committee for Jewish-Christian relations.

Conference Mirrors Pre-State Events
The meetings resemble similar discussions by the British Shaw Committee that took place 80 years ago. Those meetings aimed to determine to whom the Western Wall belonged. Former Israel Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook went before the committee to offer his perspective, while the committee honored the Muslim Mufti by coming to his office adjacent to the Temple Mount.

Rabbi Kook presented the committee with arguments for Jewish rights to pray at the site and emphasized its holiness. When asked to bring supporting proof, Rabbi Kook responded: “By relying on documents, we are liable to weaken this truth, which is among those that are so well known that it is not in need of proof. It is similar to one who raises a candle to increase the brightness of the sun’s light…It is known that this site is enwrapped in the same holiness of our Holy Temple.”

Later in the deliberations, the heads of the Zionist establishment agreed to relinquish claims of ownership of the Western Wall and receive only the right to pray at the site. In response to the initiative, Rabbi Kook responded: “G-d forbid we give up the Western Wall; we have not received power of attorney from the Nation of Israel!”

Rabbis Invited For Pre-Annapolis Temple Mount Talks (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124132)

Syria reiterates demand to put Golan on Annapolis summit agenda
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent , and Reuters
07/11/2007

Syria is holding firm on its demand that the Golan Heights be among the items on the agenda of the upcoming Middle East peace conference scheduled to take place in late November at Annapolis.

Amid speculation that Washington could soon dispatch official invitations to the summit, Syria's Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah al-Dardari told BBC radio Wednesday that, "When such an invitation, and if such an invitation should come, it should include an agenda with the Golan Heights clearly placed on that agenda. If not, why should we be there in Annapolis?"

Asked whether the conference could achieve any kind of peace deal without Syria, Dardari said: "Definitely not... No peace without Syria in the Middle East."
Advertisement
Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence believes that the U.S-sponsored summit is likely to fail, and that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas might step down as a result.

Abbas reportedly views the Annapolis conference as the last opportunity to resuscitate the peace process. If he does go home in the wake of a failure of the talks, without a successor acceptable to Fatah, Abbas' departure would create a lacuna in the Palestinian leadership and increase Hamas influence.

According to Military Intelligence, Abbas' inner circle is cut off from the Fatah rank and file, and has difficulty exerting its authority over the various military wings of Fatah (the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the various West Bank cities) and its political activists. This lack of full control at the grass-roots level might make it difficult for the PA to fulfill its obligations as part of a diplomatic process.

As Haaretz reported a few weeks ago, MI believes the chances for success at Annapolis are "close to nil."

The IDF believes the main obstacle is disagreement over the Palestinians meeting their obligations as part of the first stage of the road map, set forward by the Bush administration in 2002: dismantling terror infrastructure. The Palestinian Authority says it has met this obligation, and is not responsible for the Qassam rocket fire on the western Negev since the attacks emanate from the Gaza Strip, which is no longer under its control.

Israel Defense Forces intelligence officers say the PA's main function has been reduced to paying salaries to PA workers and security forces.

However, the IDF also notes that security cooperation between the Shin Bet and the PA's preventive security forces and its general intelligence force has been renewed recently and ties are much closer. The PA security forces have been transmitting important information to Israel and have frequently thwarted terror attacks.

Former senior IDF officers who took part in the Camp David talks say they are also concerned that over the lack of experience of Israeli representatives to the Annapolis talks, especially in the face of the years of experience the PA's negotiators have had in talks with Israel.

Syria reiterates demand to put Golan on Annapolis summit agenda (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/921344.html)

Interfaith peace plan touted

November 8, 2007

By Cajsa Collin - The most senior religious leaders from Israel and the Palestinian territories announced details yesterday of a Middle East peace initiative that emphasizes the importance of religion in resolving the conflict.

At an unprecedented press conference in Washington, members of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land announced six concrete steps they plan to take, including establishment of a hot line to connect its members and efforts to foster mutual respect between religions.

Jewish participants included Rabbi Shlomo Amar, chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel; Rabbi Yonah Metzger, chief Ashkenazi rabbi of Israel; Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen, chief rabbi of Haifa; Rabbi David Rosen; and Oded Wiener, director general of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

Christian participants included Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox patriarchate; Patriarch Michel Sabbah, Latin patriarchate; Bishop Suheil Dawani, the Anglican Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East; and Bishop Munib Younan, Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Holy Land and Jordan.

Muslim participants included Sheik Taysir al-Tamimi, supreme judge of the Palestinian Shariah Courts; Sheik Jamal Bawatnah, minister of Awqaf; Salah A. Zuheika, deputy minister of Waqf and religious affairs for the Palestinian Authority; Sheik Hatem Hilmi Bakri; and Sheik Abdel Salam Mraish.

Mr. Rosen, speaking on behalf of the Jewish members, said it was "pathetic" that it had taken so long to produce the initiative but "amazing" that it is finally taking place.

"We are not here to be politicians; we are not here to make political decisions. We are here to say no political solution can work without the religious dimension. To ignore it is to guarantee it will fail," he said.

The U.S. Agency for International Development funded the initiative, which is meant to further cooperation at the grass-roots level. The council grew out of the Alexandria Declaration in Egypt in January 2002, in which religious leaders in the region made a commitment to end violence in the Holy Land.

In March, the council began working with Catholic Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of the Washington Archdiocese and Tony P. Hall, a former Ohio Democratic congressman and U.S. ambassador to U.N. organizations, to develop specific plans for cooperation among Christians, Jews and Muslims.

The six steps call for establishing a "hot line" to ease communication between council members who will offer advice to Israeli and Palestinian political leaders and monitor regional press for defamatory representations of any religion.

The council will also monitor education to make sure it promotes mutual respect and acceptance in local schools and show, through their cooperation, that differences can be solved through dialogue rather than violence.

All members of the council support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian problem and agree that no peace agreement can be reached without solving the religious aspects of the conflict.

"I don't think any of us here are under any illusions that this group is going to solve the peace problem," said Mr. Hall. But "you cannot have peace without these people. They are necessary, and the constituencies that they represent."

It is not clear whether the council will be represented at a planned peace conference in Annapolis, but members of the council were optimistic about getting an invitation.

Mr. Zuheika said the council should be represented in order for the conference to be successful.

"I think it is a must, because without solving the religious problems, nothing will work," he said.

Interfaith peace plan touted (http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071108/FOREIGN/111080034/1001&template=printart)

2007-11-08

Holy See Presses for 2-State Solution in Mideast

Urges Israelis and Palestinians to Commit to Peace

NEW YORK, NOV. 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See is convinced that a two-state solution is the best way to solve the crisis between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East.

Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, affirmed this today when he addressed the 62nd session of the U.N. General Assembly on the topic of Palestinian refugees in the Near East.

The archbishop said that at the heart of the matter is the problem of injustice. He said, "To postpone endlessly the resolution of this conflict by a refusal to negotiate and to compromise reasonably, by indecision or by a willingness to maintain the status quo, is to perpetuate injustice."

"Whether such a mind-set is deliberate or not does not alter the reality on the ground, namely, innocent people and entire families on all sides continue to suffer terribly and infrastructures are destroyed even before they are ready for use," the prelate continued.

True resolve

Affirming that the Holy See believes a two-state solution has the best chance to settle the crisis, Archbishop Migliore called on both Israelis and Palestinians to resolve themselves to work for peace.

He said: "Bringing this solution to reality is not the primary responsibility of the Quartet, but of the parties directly concerned and the neighboring countries who have immediate interests in the whole question."

The Quartet on the Middle East, which is involved in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, comprises the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

The prelate continued: "While the international community can only do so much in providing all the support needed to bring together those in conflict, it is indispensable that the parties must set aside the pretense of peacemaking and start full negotiations on the two-state solution.

"My delegation earnestly hopes that the international conference planned for the end of this month may move the peace process towards this end, towards the definition of a realistic accord that the parties will be determined to implement."

Vicious cycle

Archbishop Migliore acknowledged that decades of violence have caused rage among the people of the area, "fueling the vicious cycle of violent retaliations."

However, he called on "groups within both the Israeli and Palestinian civil societies which, sharing the same loss and fear, reach out to one another to offer and receive forgiveness and reconciliation. We appeal not only to authorities, but to the entire Israeli, Palestinian and neighboring peoples, to consider how much this disposition of mutual empathy can bridge their otherwise mutually exclusive and contradictory claims which have so far prevented talks to come to fruition."

The archbishop concluded by noting that the status of the city of Jerusalem must be part of a lasting solution.

"In light of the numerous incidents of violence and challenges to free movement posed by the security wall," he said, "the Holy See renews its support for internationally guaranteed provisions to ensure the city of Jerusalem the freedom of religion and of conscience of its inhabitants, as well as permanent, free and unhindered access to the holy places by the faithful of all religions and nationalities."

Holy See Presses for 2-State Solution in Mideast (http://www.zenit.org/article-20950?l=english)

Palestinians ease demands for conference By JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 9, 2:47 AM ET

JERUSALEM - Encouraged by a conciliatory speech by Israel's prime minister, Palestinian negotiators have eased their demands that an upcoming U.S.-hosted peace conference lay out a plan for statehood, officials said Thursday.

The Palestinians said they were pleased with Israeli pledges to resume peace talks after the conference this month — and were now less concerned with a pre-summit understanding that had bogged down earlier negotiations.

In Tel Aviv, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki indicated how far the Palestinians have retreated from their original demand that the pre-conference document include concrete statements on all the "core issues" — borders, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

Malki said the framework was made up of previous peace initiatives. "The second component of the document is the core issues," he said, "and here of course we have to find exactly what are these core issues, at least if we can mention them by name."

Playing down the conference, set for late this month in Annapolis, Md., Malki said, "We should not spend that much effort on Annapolis itself, but on the day after Annapolis."

That mirrored Israel's stand that the conference would only mark the resumption of peace talks.

In a speech Sunday night, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared "now is the time" to sign a deal. The following day, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he had received "encouraging signs" from Israel. Standing next to Abbas, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she was "tremendously impressed by the seriousness" of both sides.

Speaking at the same Tel Aviv University forum as Malki, Israeli Cabinet Minister Ami Ayalon said the goal was "to reach agreement on the principles of a final peace deal" during the next year, while President Bush is in office.

The sudden shift in tone contrasts sharply with disagreements that have plagued the summit preparations for weeks. Those differences focused on a joint document the sides hoped to present at the conference.

The Palestinians had insisted the document outline the general principles of a future peace agreement and provide a timeline for granting them independence. The Israelis sought a vaguer, nonbinding agreement.

With negotiators making little progress on these issues, Palestinian officials said they were turning their focus away from the document and toward post-summit talks after receiving Israeli and U.S. assurances that peace efforts would move into high gear after the conference. The meeting is expected to take place around Nov. 26.

"We were hoping for a document that would define the limits and guiding resolution for every difficult point," said Rafiq Husseini, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "I'm not sure we'll get it."

He said he was pleased there was now talk of reviving the "road map" — a long-stalled U.S. peace plan that envisions a Palestinian state.

The Annapolis conference is also meant to strengthen Abbas in his standoff with the Islamic militant group Hamas, which violently seized control of the Gaza Strip last June.

The takeover has led to renewed peacemaking between Israel and Abbas' moderate government in the West Bank — but it has also raised serious questions about Abbas' ability to implement any future deal.

Palestinian officials said Abbas was especially encouraged by Olmert's suggestion in his speech Sunday night that a deal could be reached by the end of the Bush administration in January 2009.

Olmert described the Annapolis summit as a "starting point" for talks on Palestinian statehood, including the so-called core issues that have scuttled past peace efforts: the final borders between Israel and a future Palestine, the status of disputed Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

Olmert also said he was ready to carry out Israel's initial obligation under the road map — a freeze in Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank — and said he expected the Palestinians to meet their road map commitment of disarming militants.

Israeli officials declined to discuss the status of pre-summit negotiations but said Olmert was serious about using the conference as a launching pad.

"Annapolis is not about implementation. It's about defining the issues, showing how we go forward without giving the solutions right now," said Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin.

A U.S. diplomat said Washington was encouraged by the latest Palestinian position, which appears to match Israeli and American thinking.

"We've never envisioned Annapolis as a meeting that hammers out core issues, but rather sets the stage for parties to work on the core issues in an atmosphere of confidence," said the diplomat, who asked that he not be named in accordance with State Department policy.

An official date for the conference is expected to be announced within the next 10 days, along with formal invitations.

Egypt, Saudi Back Mideast Peace Meeting

14 hours ago

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Egypt and Saudi Arabia backed an upcoming U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference Saturday as a way to set the stage for a final agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, an Egyptian official said.

It was still unclear, however, whether the two countries would attend the conference, scheduled for late November in Annapolis, Md. Arab countries have been reluctant to commit to attending without guarantees that the meeting will yield firm results.

"Egypt and Saudi Arabia have a clear stance, that is to welcome the meeting because it comes after long years of a frozen peace process," said Suleiman Awaad, a spokesman for Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

He spoke after a meeting between Mubarak and Saudi King Abdullah.

Awaad said Mubarak and Abdullah expect the meeting to "set up the final solutions ... within serious negotiations and a timetable."

Saudi officials did not comment after the meeting.

In September, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said his country would probably not attend the conference if it did not tackle substantive issues.

Mubarak also expressed concern in September that the meeting would not produce concrete results without a clear agenda. However, the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit publicly endorsed the conference in October after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

President Bush called for the conference in July to break the deadlock in the Mideast peace process.

Palestinian officials said Saturday that pre-conference talks with Israel have hit a rough patch as negotiators try to write a joint document that is to serve as a basis for the meeting.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the two sides have not progressed beyond the preamble, and many disagreements remain.

Awaad said Egypt and Saudi Arabia were committed to ensuring the conference's success.

"Egypt and Saudi Arabia are serious, and Mubarak and King Abdullah are very keen to make this conference successful because its success will eventually lead to the benefit of the Palestinian people and the rest of the region."

Egypt, Saudi Back Mideast Peace Meeting (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gPLQ9iElQrF39jrvDOvdjHr5UUYAD8SR25280)

Kingdom, Egypt Urge ‘Serious ME Talks’
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News

JEDDAH, 12 November 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah returned to Riyadh yesterday at the conclusion of a successful six-nation tour, which saw the signing of several vital accords with Britain, Italy, Germany and Turkey and a historic meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.

The king held two rounds of talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. The talks, according to presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad, focused on the Middle East peace conference called by US President George W. Bush as well as the situation in Iraq and Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are hopeful that the peace conference, which is scheduled to be held in Annapolis, Maryland later this month will bring about a just and lasting peace, closing the file on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, ending the occupation and restoring the rights of Palestinians, he said.

In a statement after talks between King Abdullah and Mubarak on Saturday night, Awad said the two countries fervently hoped the upcoming conference would succeed. “Its success will be in the interest of the region’s peace, security and stability,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the presidential spokesman as saying. He said the US had not yet sent invitations to any participating country.

“Our stance on the conference is very clear. We welcome this meeting which is being held several years after the freezing of the peace process.” However, the two countries insisted that the conference should set a time frame for serious negotiations on core issues, opening the way for dealing with other tracks of the peace process including the issue of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

Awad emphasized the intent of both Saudi Arabia and Egypt to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, adding that the plan was in line with a decision taken by the last Arab League summit in Riyadh. “Strengthening Arab capabilities for peaceful use of nuclear energy is an Arab decision and several contacts have taken place on this matter since the Riyadh summit.”

Awad said the roles of Saudi Arabia and Egypt were complementary to each other and would serve Arab interests and issues. “Egypt is working to restart dialogue between Fatah and Hamas and has strongly rejected the siege of Gaza as it would lead to a human catastrophe,” he said.

In a related development, Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Rasheed Mohammed Rasheed said the king’s two-day state visit to Cairo would boost relations in all areas. “King Abdullah and President Mubarak give utmost importance to strengthening our strategic relations. We also work for the economic integration of the two countries, setting a model for other Arab countries,” Rasheed said.

He emphasized the Egyptian government’s desire to encourage Saudi and Egyptian investors to establish projects in both countries. “We have established an investment unit in the Kingdom to highlight opportunities in Egypt and provide assistance to Saudi companies willing to invest in our country.”

Rasheed said the last meeting of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council had agreed to establish a joint company with a capital of 500 million Egyptian pounds to support joint ventures. A number of Saudi companies are now planning to establish new projects in industry, agricultural, petrochemicals, textiles and hotel industry.

On arrival at Riyadh airport, King Abdullah was greeted by Crown Prince Sultan, and other senior princes and officials including Prince Badr, deputy commander of the National Guard, Interior Minister Prince Naif and Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman.

Kingdom, Egypt Urge ‘Serious ME Talks’ (http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=103461&d=12&m=11&y=2007&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom)

'Hamas may use terror to thwart peace'
Mark Weiss , THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 11, 2007

Hamas may try to carry out terrorist attacks to torpedo the peace process if it looks like the Annapolis conference and the ensuing negotiations will achieve progress, according to OC Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas needs to achieve diplomatic momentum and bring about changes on the ground to boost his own standing amongst the Palestinian population, he told government ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting. If he fails, the opposite will happen, he said, adding: "Failure of the conference could bring about a serious risk of strengthening the extremists."

Israeli counterterrorism operations continue to thwart the ongoing attempts by Hamas to carry out attacks, Yadlin said. Hamas was currently focusing its efforts on building up its military infrastructure, training and increasing its supplies of weapons in preparation for an expected large scale IDF thrust into Gaza, he said. Ten tons of TNT were smuggled into the Gaza Strip in the last month alone, he said.

Yadlin denied there was a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but said, "It's not a place I would want to live."

National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer expressed support for the Annapolis conference, but said he had doubts over the ability of the Palestinian moderates to actually deliver.

"Annapolis is not Camp David, Annapolis is the beginning of a process," Yadlin responded. The aim of the process, he said, was to give the moderates sufficient benefits to strengthen their position.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised to hold cabinet debates on Annapolis both before the conference - tentatively set for two weeks from now - and after.

"There is no commitment to any timetable," he said. "I want to move forward cautiously and responsibly, but I want to move forward."

Olmert said the alternative to Annapolis was a continuation of the status quo, which would be bad for Israel.

"Anyone who believes the status quo is good for Israel is either deluding themselves or living in a fantasy world," he said.

Israeli negotiators will demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state during negotiations following the Annapolis conference.

However, Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisen, refused to classify such a demand as a precondition for the talks to progress.

"There's nothing new here," she said. "The prime minister has consistently stated that Israel sees the two-state solution as two nation-states side by side - a Jewish State of Israel and a Palestinian state."

A senior official denied reports on Sunday that Israel was considering easing the definition of Palestinian security prisoners "with blood on their hands" ahead of a possible future release.

The official confirmed that the security establishment was examining the possibility of a further release following a request from the PA for Israel to free another 2,000 detainees, but he denied any change in classification was being considered.

'Hamas may use terror to thwart peace' (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380790178&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

The "road map" for peace is a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict proposed by a "quartet" of international entities: the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations. The principles of the plan were first outlined by U.S. President George W. Bush in a speech on June 24, 2002, in which he called for an independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace: "The Roadmap represents a starting point toward achieving the vision of two states, a secure State of Israel and a viable, peaceful, democratic Palestine. It is the framework for progress towards lasting peace and security in the Middle East.

In exchange for statehood, the road map requires the Palestinian Authority to make democratic reforms and abandon the use of terrorism. Israel, for its part, must support and accept the emergence of a reformed Palestinian government and end settlement activity of the Gaza Strip and West Bank as the Palestinian terrorist threat is removed.

The road map comprises three goal-driven phases with the ultimate goal of ending the conflict as early as 2005. However, as a performance-based plan, progress will require and depend upon the good faith efforts of the parties, and their compliance with each of the obligations quartet put the plan together, with amendments following consultations with Israelis and Palestinians:

Phase I (as early as May 2003): End to Palestinian violence; Palestinian political reform; Israeli withdrawal and freeze on settlement expansion; Palestinian elections.

Phase II (as early as June-Dec 2003): International Conference to support Palestinian economic recovery and launch a process, leading to establishment of an independent Palestinian state with provisional borders; revival of multilateral engagement on issues including regional water resources, environment, economic development, refugees, and arms control issues; Arab states restore pre-intifada links to Israel (trade offices, etc.).

Phase III (as early as 2004-2005): second international conference; permanent status agreement and end of conflict; agreement on final borders, clarification of the highly controversial question of the fate of Jerusalem, refugees and settlements; Arab state to agree to peace deals with Israel.

The first step on the road map was the appointment of the first-ever Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The United States and Israel demanded that Arafat be neutralized or sidelined in the road map process, claiming that he had not done enough to stop Palestinian attacks against Israelis while in charge. The United States refused to release the road map until a Palestinian Prime Minister was in place. Abbas was appointed on March 19, 2003, clearing the way for the release of the road map's details on April 30, 2003.

On May 27, 2003, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stated that the "occupation" of Palestinian territories was "a terrible thing for Israel and for the Palestinians" and "can't continue endlessly." Sharon's phraseology prompted shock from many in Israel, leading to a clarification that by "occupation," Sharon meant control of millions of Palestinian lives rather than actual physical occupation of land. Nevertheless, outsiders believed that Sharon knew what he was saying when he used the word "occupation" and was carefully offering the road map for peace a chance, despite his traditionally hawkish views towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

President Bush visited the Middle East from June 2-4 2003 for two summits in an attempt to push the road map as part of a seven-day overseas trip through Europe and Russia. On June 2, Israel freed about 100 Palestinian political prisoners before the first summit in Egypt as a sign of goodwill. In Egypt on June 3, President Bush met with the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain, and with Prime Minister Abbas. The Arab leaders announced their support for the road map and promised to work on cutting off funding to "terrorist groups." On June 4, Bush headed to Jordan to meet directly with Sharon and Abbas.

After Bush left the region, a series of retaliatory attacks by Israelis and Palestinians continued, threatening to derail the road map. On June 5, 2003, the bodies of two Israelis were found near Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem, beaten and stabbed to death. On June 8, 2003, Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi directed an attack that killed four Israeli soldiers at the Erez Checkpoint in the Gaza Strip. On June 10, 2003, Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a car in Gaza in a failed attempt to assassinate Rantissi; two Palestinians were killed. The next day, a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 17 passengers and bystanders on an Israeli bus. In the following few days, Israel continued its targeting of Hamas leaders with new helicopter attacks.

On June 29, 2003, a tentative cease-fire was reached between the Palestinian Authority and four major Palestinian groups. Islamic Jihad and Hamas announced a joint three-month cease-fire, while Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction declared a six-month truce. The cease-fire was later joined by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. One condition of maintaining the truce was a demand for the release of prisoners from Israeli jails, which was not part of the road map process. Despite this, Israel withdrew troops from the northern Gaza Strip and was discussing the transfer of territory to Palestinian control. The apparent breakthrough coincided with a visit to the region by United States National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.

On July 1, 2003, in Jerusalem, Sharon and Abbas held a first-ever ceremonial opening to peace talks, televised live in both Arabic and Hebrew. Both leaders said the violence had gone on too long and that they were committed to the U.S.-led road map for peace. On July 2, Israeli troops pulled out of Bethlehem and transferred control to Palestinian security forces. The plan required that Palestinian police take over from withdrawing Israeli forces and stop any anti-Israeli militant attacks. At the same time, the U.S. announced a $30 million aid package to the Palestinian Authority to help rebuild infrastructure destroyed by Israeli incursions.

By the end of 2003, the Palestinian Authority had not prevented Palestinian terrorism, and Israel had neither withdrawn from Palestinian areas occupied since September 28, 2000, nor frozen settlement expansion. Thus the parties have not complied with the requirements of Phase I of the road map and no further progress on the road map has been made. It is thus currently effectively in limbo.

cont'd next post

On February 13, 2004 the United States government decided that it would endorse Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for a unilateral withdrawal of most Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip, adding that "...negotiations were impossible because of Palestinian recalcitrance."

April 14, 2004, President George W. Bush wrote a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon seeming to herald two significant changes or increased specifications to longstanding but ambiguous U.S. policy which had most recently been embodied in the road map. For the first time during the road map process, Bush indicated his expectations as to the outcome of the final status negotiations. The letter was widely seen as a triumph for Sharon, since Bush's expectations seemed to favor Israel on two highly contentious issues. Regarding final borders, the letter stated: "In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949, and all previous efforts to negotiate a two-state solution have reached the same conclusion. It is realistic to expect that any final status agreement will only be achieved on the basis of mutually agreed changes that reflect these realities...". Second, regarding the Palestinian refugees' right of return, Bush also stated: "It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state and the settling of Palestinian refugees there rather than Israel."

On May 8, 2004 in an interview with Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper, President George W. Bush clarified the current situation regarding the road map stating:

Quote from: President George W. Bush

Well, 2005 may be hard, since 2005 is right around the corner. I readily concede the date has slipped some, primarily because violence sprung up. When I laid out the date of 2005, I believe it was around the time I went to Aqaba, Jordan. It was a very meaningful moment, where former Prime Minister Abu Mazen, myself, Prime Minister Sharon and His Majesty, the King of Jordan, stood up and pledged to work together.

But we hit a bump in the road -- violence, as well as Abu Mazen being replaced, which changed the dynamic. I don't want to make any excuses, but nevertheless, I think the timetable of 2005 isn't as realistic as it was two years ago. Nevertheless, I do think we ought to push hard as fast as possible to get a state in place.

And I repeat to you, sir, that part of my frustrations were alleviated with the Quartet making the statement it made the other day -- the Quartet being the EU, Russia, United Nations and the United States, working together. I think we can get the World Bank involved. But there is a certain sense of responsibility that falls upon the Palestinians, reform-minded Palestinians to step up and say, yes, we accept these institutions necessary for a peaceful state to emerge.

July 18, 2004, United States President George W. Bush stated that the establishment of a Palestinian state by the end of 2005 was unlikely due to instability and violence in the Palestinian Authority. (Le Figaro)

In November of 2004 Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died aged 75 in a French hospital. Arafat's powers were divided among his officials, with Mahmoud Abbas elected head of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Rawhi Fattuh sworn in as acting president of the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the death could be a turning point for peace if the Palestinians "ceased terrorism" and waged a "war on terror".

The White House simply described the death as a "significant moment in Palestinian history", and offered condolences.

On 8 February 2005, the leaders of Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority came together at Sharm el-Sheikh for a summit meeting at which they declared their continuing support for the road map.

In his May 26, 2005 joint press conference with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the Rose Garden, President Bush said:

Quote from: President George W. Bush

Any final status agreement must be reached between the two parties, and changes to the 1949 Armistice lines must be mutually agreed to. A viable two-state solution must ensure contiguity of the West Bank, and a state of scattered territories will not work. There must also be meaningful linkages between the West Bank and Gaza. This is the position of the United States today, it will be the position of the United States at the time of final status negotiations.

This statement was widely seen as a triumph for Abbas, as many commentators view it as contradictory to his April 14, 2004 letter. The Bush administration has made no attempts to clarify any perceived discrepancies between the two statements.

In August 2005, the Israelis started their planned disengagement from the Gaza Strip, removing all of its settlements from this area and from a portion of the West Bank. This was widely endorsed around the world and the process, although unilateral on Israel's part, was co-ordinated with the Palestinian Authority.

In early January 2006, Sharon suffered a major stroke and slipped into an induced coma.

With Sharon in a serious condition in hospital, his powers were transferred to his deputy, Finance Minister Ehud Olmert. On March 28, 2006 Knesset elections were held, and Olmert's party, Kadima, won the most seats. On April 14, 2006 Sharon was declared permanently incapacitated, and Olmert was named interim Prime Minister.

On 4 June, 2006 Ehud Olmert announced he will meet Mahmoud Abbas to resume talks on the Road map for peace. Olmert and Abbas joined breakfast with King Abdullah II of Jordan on 22 June 2006 in Petra. They pledged to meet again in coming weeks.

On 22 June, Hamas accepts parts of the prisoners' document, which calls for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders and the creation of a Palestinian state. On 27 June, 2006 Hamas and Fatah both accept the document fully.

That sets up for my next post.

Olmert, Abbas have reached agreement that skips first phase of road map.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are preventing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert from moving forward on a joint declaration with the Palestinian Authority, a senior PA official said Tuesday.

The official, who is currently accompanying PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on a visit to Ankara, Turkey, said disagreements on the Israeli side are to blame for the lack of progress on drafting a declaration ahead of the U.S-sponsored Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland.

"Olmert is willing but the problem is with Livni and Barak," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous. "As of yet he haven't been able to reach an agreement on anything, and there has been absolutely no progress."
Advertisement

"There needs to be a clear decision by the political echelon in Israel, and only then will we be able to move forward," he said, adding that he believes Olmert and Abbas will ultimately have to personally close the deal on the declaration in a face-to-face meeting.

PM: Final status talks to be held before first stage of road map

Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to begin talks on a final status agreement before the implementation of the first stage of the road map - eliminating terror and dismantling the settlements - according to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in his appearance before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Since the unveiling of the road map in 2002, Israel has been opposed to negotiations on a final-status agreement before the first stage of the road map was implemented. However last week the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams agreed that following the Annapolis summit scheduled for the end of the month, negotiations on a final-status arrangement would begin. The agreement states that if a final-status accord is reached, it would be subject to the implementation of the road map by the parties.

Israel and the Palestinians entered an intensive stage of the negotiations on Monday in a bid to formulate a declaration to be presented at the Annapolis conference. The negotiating teams, headed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Ahmad Qureia for the Palestinian Authority, met in Jerusalem and were to meet again Tuesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Condolleezza Rice will decide based on the progress of the parties whether to come to the region again next week.

"I concluded that we can permit ourselves to somewhat change our traditional position," Olmert told the Knesset committee. He added that time was working against the diplomatic process, and so "we will try to reach an understanding on all elements of the solution. But we will not have to implement anything before the fulfillment of the first stage of the road map," he added.

Olmert said there would be a period of time, which he called a "buffer zone," between the agreement and its implementation. "If stage one of the road map is implemented - if the Palestinians dismantle terror infrastructure - then and only then will Israel have to implement the agreement."

Olmert and Prime Minister Tzipi Livni appeared at different Knesset forums on Monday, and explained that the Annapolis summit would last for one day.

Livni revealed to the Kadima faction that Israel had pressed the Palestinians into committing the agreement to writing.

Government sources in Jerusalem said the summit would begin on November 26, with meetings of the foreign ministers in Annapolis. That evening President George W. Bush will host Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for a dinner at the White House. The next day, Olmert and Abbas will speak at the formal opening of the conference, which would last a few hours.

According to Olmert, "the starting point of the negotiations will be the recognition that Israel is the state of the Jewish people.

"I have no doubt that Abu Mazen and and [PA Prime Minister] Salam Fayad are obligated to agreements and want to make peace with Israel as a Jewish state, and I have good reason to say this," Olmert also said.

The end point of the talks, Olmert said, would be the declaration of the end of the conflict and demands.

Olmert plans to bring the agreement reached at the end of the negotiations to the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. and the Quartet, to ensure the widest possible international support.

Olmert also told the Knesset committee that the U.S. has not prohibited Israel from conducting talks with Syria, but rather is asking in another way that Israel avoid such talks.

"A formula can be found for Syria to participate in the conference," Olmert told the committee. "I believe that the Annapolis summit could, under certain conditions, bring about a renewal of talks with Syria when the time comes, and that is of value for
Israel."

Last week Defense Minister Ehud Barak told a meeting of the Saban Forum of economic, political and academic leaders from the U.S. and Israel that he supported renewing talks with Syria. He said another round of conflict might break out between Israel and Syria, in which case "we would have to look our soldiers in the eyes and tell them we had done everything we could to obtain an agreement.

Mazal Mualem adds: Barak told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee last week that based on recent intelligence, Syria might be seeking to remove itself from "the axis of evil," and this might constitute an opportunity to renew talks between Syria and Israel. Barak's associates said promoting the Syrian channel did not contradict the channel of talks with the Palestinians.

Olmert, Abbas have reached agreement that skips first phase of road map. (http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/923218.html)

Israeli-Palestinian deal "doable" in 9 months: EU
Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:56pm EST

By Adam Entous

JERICHO, West Bank (Reuters) - The EU's top diplomat said on Tuesday an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal was "doable" within nine months and that the issue of the Golan Heights should be addressed by a planned peace conference this month.

Syria has made its attendance conditional on the conference agenda including the Golan Heights, captured from it by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. The talks on Palestinian statehood are slated for the last week of November in Annapolis, Maryland.

U.S. President George W. Bush called for the conference to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the long-stalled peace process after Hamas Islamists seized the Gaza Strip in June, and Israel has resisted adding Golan to the agenda.

The conference may also be a chance for the Bush administration to turn its legacy around from the unpopular war in Iraq.

"What we have in mind now is to finish the (Israeli-Palestinian) agreement after Annapolis in, let's say, eight, nine months -- during the period of time in which the administration, the present American administration, will stay in power," the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, told Reuters in the West Bank town of Jericho.

"It's doable. It requires political will. It requires effort. It's not easy. But it's doable," Solana said.

It is unclear how a deal would be implemented with the Palestinian territories divided between Hamas ruling Gaza and Abbas's Fatah faction dominating the occupied West Bank. Seven people died on Monday in gunfire at a Fatah rally in Gaza.

Solana acknowledged growing tensions between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators struggling to narrow differences over a joint document to be presented at the conference.

The document is meant to address in general terms issues like borders and the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees, and serve as a starting point for formal statehood negotiations slated for after the Annapolis conference.

Palestinian negotiators have told Western diplomats in recent days they were increasingly pessimistic differences over the document could be bridged, casting doubt on the willingness of key Arab states like Saudi Arabia to attend.

"We're at a very important moment," Solana said. "As we approach the beginning of the process, there will be some tensions. But I'm sure that this is going to be overcome."

PRISONER RELEASE

The main session of the Annapolis conference is expected to be held on November 27 and last one day, Israeli officials said.

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition that he not be named, said there could be related events before or afterwards.

Diplomats had initially expected a two-day gathering.

In addition to the joint document, the conference will focus on bolstering Palestinian governing institutions and expanding international involvement in the moribund Palestinian economy, issues spearheaded by Middle East envoy Tony Blair, Israeli officials briefed on the agenda said.

Asked if it was time to revive Israeli-Syrian peacemaking, Solana said: "We have to concentrate now on the track which is moving, which is the Palestinian track, without forgetting that peace will not be achieved until all the tracks are moving, that includes, of course, the Syrian and the Lebanese tracks."

Solana said he hoped the Annapolis conference would issue a statement in "that direction".

Israel plans to release several hundred Palestinian prisoners before the conference as a gesture to Abbas, Israeli officials said, far short of the 2,000 figure proposed by Abbas.

Though leaders on both sides have said they hoped to be able to reach agreements before Bush leaves office in January 2009, Israel says implementation will not begin until the Palestinians dismantle militant groups as called for under the long-stalled "road map" peace plan.

After touring a training facility for the Palestinian police, Solana said: "I have no doubt that they will accomplish that. As a matter of fact, many of the issues which are contemplated in the first phase of the 'road map' the Palestinians are already complying with."

Israeli-Palestinian deal "doable" in 9 months: EU (http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USL1388355920071113)

By The Associated Press
Tags: Condoleezza Rice, U.S.

The United States plans to issue as early as Tuesday official invitations to a much-anticipated Middle East conference, to be held next week at Annapolis, Maryland, hoping for strong backing from a select a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/923089.html">group of Arab nations for the U.S. effort to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

As the U.S. finalizes preparations, the State Department will start sending out invitations overnight for the event, U.S. officials said Monday. The conference will be held in Annapolis on November 27 in between meetings in Washington.

The main guests are the Israelis and the Palestinians, and President George W. Bush's administration is also planning to invite Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and key international players in the peace process, the officials said.
Advertisement
The invitations are to be sent by diplomatic cable to U.S. embassies in the countries concerned, with instructions to Washington's ambassadors to present them to their host governments' foreign ministries, the officials said. They will ask that each nation send its highest-ranking appropriate official to Annapolis.

The White House has said Bush will attend at least part of the event chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who also will host a pre-conference dinner at the State Department on November 26, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement.

The State Department held off on invitations in an attempt to get as much done to prepare for the meeting before formally committing to the dates. Details about the meeting, including the guest list and agenda, are expected to be made public in the coming days.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said preparations for the meeting were nearly complete and Rice had spent a good deal of time over the weekend calling officials in the Middle East for last-minute consultations.

Among others, Rice telephoned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit. She also called Lebanese President Fuad Siniora, with whom she discussed both peace efforts and Lebanon's upcoming presidential elections, McCormack said.

Bush, who announced plans for the conference in July, and Rice hope Annapolis will launch the first serious round of Israel-Palestinian peace talks in more than seven years with the participants' endorsement of a joint document now being prepared by Israeli and Palestinian officials.

"We do have a sense that they are continuing to make progress, not only on the document but also on what comes after Annapolis," McCormack said.

While awaiting the formal announcement of the conference, the State Department also welcomed pre-Annapolis steps announced Monday by Olmert's cabinet, including the release of Palestinian prisoners and a fresh commitment to not construct new settlements in the West Bank.

"Our view is that the steps that the Israeli government has announced are positive confidence-building measures in the run-up to Annapolis," McCormack said, adding that such steps are points that both sides can build on, where they can build up that mutual confidence and try to improve daily lives on both sides, for both the Palestinians as well as the Israelis.

Meanwhile, a large group of U.S. lawmakers urged Rice in a letter to make the most of the conference.

"Clearly, robust, hands-on U.S. leadership and diplomacy is necessary to frame not only on what transpires at the meeting, but on what takes place before and after it," said the letter, co-authored by Reps. Gary Ackerman, a Democrat, and Republican Charles Boustany Jr., and signed by 133 other members of Congress.

Separately, former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, a Rice mentor, and other well-known Washington advisers warned Bush and Rice in a letter last month that the session must tackle the substance of a permanent peace and that its failure risks devastating consequences.

The letter is to be re-released Tuesday with more signatures, including Brookings Institution scholar Diana Villiers Negroponte, wife of Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.

The Annapolis invitation list has been a poorly kept secret since mid-September, when U.S. officials first began floating ideas about who should attend.

The administration is hoping for significant representation from Arab countries, whose foreign ministers are to meet Thursday and Friday in Cairo to form a joint position on the conference.

The U.S. has already said the 13 nations that make up the Arab League's follow-up committee on a broad Arab-Israeli peace settlement are to be invited.

Aside from the Palestinians and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, the committee members are Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.

Others expected to be invited include the members that, with the United States, make up the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers - the United Nations, European Union and Russia. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will also be asked to attend in his capacity as the Quartet's envoy to the Middle East.

Invitations may also go to select European states with a past role or interest in Mideast peacemaking such as France, Germany and Britain, along with G8 economic powers that were not covered by other invitations, such as Canada, Japan and Italy.

11/20- US issuing "official invitations" to the conference (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/925838.html)

Discuss Golan at Annapolis conference

At pre-Annapolis meeting of Arab League foreign ministers, participants attempt to formulate united Arab stand before Tuesday's conference. 'US must include discussion on future of Golan Heights in summit,' says one senior diplomat
News agencies

A senior Arab diplomat said Friday that the Arab League would demand that the US include a discussion on the future of the Golan Heights in the Annapolis peace conference, so as to enable Syria to participate.

The diplomat's remarks came at the end of an informal gathering of some 11 Arab foreign ministers at Arab League headquarters in Cairo ahead of a key league meeting to hammer out a unified Arab position for the Annapolis conference.

He added that Syria would attend the summit if the US complied with this demand. Asked whether the Americans have responded on the matter, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem said, "We are still waiting."

Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said, "Arabs are going to participate in the (Annapolis) meeting, to show support for the Palestinians in accordance with the Arab peace initiative."

The ministers are calling to base the talks on the Arab peace initiative, which offers full peace with Israel in exchange for a complete withdrawal from all territories captured in the 1967 Six Day War.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat also said that the Annapolis meeting will revive the stalled peace process. "(The Palestinians) have for seven years witnessed a frozen political process," Erekat said. "Now the question is not whether we should go or not, but strategically, how will we go as Arabs?"

Erekat: No to 'peace at any price'

"We want peace, but it won't be for whatever price," he added and referred to the borders of a Palestinian state, the status of east Jerusalem and the future of millions of Palestinian refugees as preconditions for peace.

The attendance of Arab heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Syria remains unclear and sources present at the meeting said much of the late night discussion revolved around the Syrian demand that the fate of the Golan Heights be high on the agenda at Annapolis.Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem spent hours trying to convince his counterparts that the conference should include an attempt to relaunch the long-frozen Syrian-Israeli peace talks.

During Friday's meeting, the ministers will be briefed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before drafting the a final, unified Arab statement on the conference.

Arab League: Discuss Golan at Annapolis conference (http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3474797,00.html)

Saudis calling shots at Annapolis peace conference?
Israel recognizes plan calling for exit from Golan, Temple Mount, Jerusalem, West Bank

In exchange for Saudi Arabia attending this week's U.S.-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian conference in Annapolis, the Israeli government agreed to recognize the importance of a Saudi-sponsored "peace initiative" in which the Jewish state is called upon to evacuate the strategic Golan Heights, the entire West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, WND has learned.

WND obtained a draft Israeli-Palestinian declaration to be presented at the Annapolis conference and to serve as an official outline of a final settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority

The wording is still being negotiated by both sides, but according to Israeli diplomatic sources, Israel agreed to a Saudi request that the declaration document include reference to a Saudi-backed Arab Peace Initiative, first presented in 2002 and reissued earlier this year at a meeting of the Arab League, an umbrella association of Mideast Arab states.

When it was first revealed, the Arab Initiative was heavily criticized by the U.S. and Israel because the text requires the Jewish state to withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza and allow for the creation of a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem, including the evacuation of the Temple Mount - Judaism's holiest site.

The Initiative also called for a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, strategic mountainous territory that looks down on Israeli population centers and that was twice used by Syria to launch ground invasions into the Jewish state.

But now Israel has recognized the Arab Initiative as a precondition for Saudi Arabia to attend the Annapolis summit, according to diplomatic sources in Jerusalem.

While Israel doesn't commit itself to the Arab Initiative's requirements, a clause in the current draft of the Israeli-Palestinian declaration slated for the Annaplis conference and obtained by WND reads: "We recognize the critical supporting role of Arab and Muslim states and the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative."

The draft declaration is subject to final changes up to Tuesday's summit.

Saudi Arabia announced yesterday it would send its foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, to the Annapolis summit after the Arab League decided to back the Israeli-Palestinian conference.

Syria has not yet officially decided whether to attend but has made clear it would not send a representative to Annapolis unless the Golan Heights was placed on the agenda.

Syria is in a military alliance with Iran and is accused by the U.S. of supporting the insurgency in Iraq and generating instability in Lebanon. Israel says Syria regularly ships Iranian rockets and weaponry to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. The chiefs of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad Palestinian terror groups are based in Damascus.

The U.S. extended an invitation to Syria without any preconditions.

While many in Washington have high hopes for Annapolis, recent polls here show Israelis are less optimistic.

A survey sponsored last week by the Israel Policy Center for Promoting Parliamentary Democracy and Jewish Values in Israeli Public Life found 77 percent of Israelis believe Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas lacked the power to prevent attacks from the West Bank.

Sixty-one percent of the general Israeli public opposes a withdrawal from most of the West Bank and handing the strategic territory to the Palestinians.

If Israel indeed evacuated the West Bank, some 55 percent of Israelis believe Palestinians will use the territory to fire rockets into Jewish population centers, and 65 percent believe there is a high or very high chance Hamas would take control of the area, according to the new poll. Hamas leaders in recent days warned their terror group would take over the West Bank if Israel withdrew.

Fear exposed: Iran poised
to destabilize Lebanon
Tehran, Syria slam Annapolis
on verge of peace conference

With the Annapolis summit scheduled to begin Tuesday, top Israeli government policy officials have expressed to WND concerns Iran is on the brink of destabilizing Lebanon.

At issue is the stalemate over selecting a new president to succeed President Emil Lahoud, whose term expired last week.

On Friday, Hezbollah blocked another parliamentary vote for a new president, forcing the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to exert emergency powers and assume the powers of the presidency.

Today, Syria's foreign ministry announced a decision to send a lower level of representation to attend the Annapolis meeting.

To underscore Syria's continued close relationship with Iran, Syria's President Bashar Assad allowed Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to publish in an Iranian Islamic Republic News Agency report a telephone conversation in which the two leaders affirmed their support for the creation of a Palestinian state.

In a comment designed to undermine the Annapolis conference, the IRNA reported, "Only the real representatives of the Palestinian nation are eligible to decide their own destiny, said the two presidents."

The report ended stressing, "The two presidents underlined that the upcoming Annapolis conference is doomed to failure."

Israeli officials are concerned no solution can be reached over the formation of a Palestinian state as long Iran continues to pursue uranium enrichment in open defiance of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.N. Security Council.

Hezbollah owes its origin to spiritual leader Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, who got the inspiration to create the Hezbollah from Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1980s, when Fadlallah studied under Khomeini while the two were in exile in Najaf, Iraq.

Iran currently funds both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza, even though Hamas is a Sunni organization that owes its origin to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah supports the candidacy of Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian politician who has reversed his previous anti-Syrian position to support Syria, after Syria withdrew its military from Lebanon in 2005, in the wake of Syrian involvement in the assassination of Lebanon former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Now, Aoun openly supports Hezbollah, defying the anti-Syrian majority in Lebanon's population, as reflected in the parliamentary alliance that created the Siniora government in Parliament.

Under the Lebanese Constitution, the president must come from the Maronite Christian community, while the jobs of prime minister and parliamentary speaker are earmarked for Sunni and Shi'a Muslims.

Experienced Middle Eastern observer Amir Taheri wrote last week, "Within the next week or so, we'll know whether Iran (acting through proxies in Beirut) will trigger a new civil war in Lebanon."

Hezbollah deputy leader Sheik Naim Kassam asserted last week the Siniora government has no right to assume the powers of the presidency.

"This government is illegitimate and unconstitutional," Kassam said in a speech last week. "It doesn't exist, so it can't rule and it can't exercise the role of the presidency."

Kassam also denounced the Annapolis conference, http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-30680720071125 calling it "a media show in favor of Israel."

Taheri reported most Lebanese Christians and Sunni Muslims want a president who would "symbolize Lebanon's independence from both Iran and Syria."

Taheri also reported a majority of the Shi'ite Muslims in Lebanon, almost 40 percent of the population, is split between Hezbollah, which follows directives from Iran, and the Amal Movement, led by Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri.

While Amal has close ties now established to Tehran, Berri still prefers Syrian influence in Lebanon.

The Amal Movement, founded in 1975 by Iranian-born Lebanese Shi'a religious leader Musa al-Sadr, formed an important militia in the Lebanese Civil War.

In the Lebanese Civil War in the 1980s, Amal embraced the support of Syria in a campaign against Palestinian refugees in what became known as the "War of the Camps" and attacked Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Hezbollah and pro-Syrian Shi'ite groups such as Amal have been insisting on a two-thirds vote in Lebanon's parliament to select the next president.

Taheri noted a win for Iran in the selection of Lebanon's next president would confirm Ahmadinejad's claim that the United States is already preparing the "last helicopter" to flee from Iraq the moment a successor is chosen to President Bush.

Ahmadinejad's "last helicopter" reference is drawn to the fall of Saigon and the famous photograph taken by Dutch UPI photographer Hubert van Es on April 19, 2005, showing Vietnamese civilians desperately trying to board an American helicopter on an apartment roof.

While the debate in the Lebanese parliament has thus far remained civil, history leads experienced Lebanon observers to be concerned the controversy could spill into volatile street protests if the deadlock over the selection of a new president is not resolved soon.

Israelis take to streets to protest Annapolis
Tens of thousands converge at Western Wall, rallies across country

Israelis across the country today protested Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's attendance at tomorrow's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit, blasting the Israeli leader for his expressed willingness to evacuate strategic territory, including possibly swaths of Jerusalem.

Nationalist groups handed out flyers against Annapolis at the entrances to Jerusalem and other major Israeli cities and even blocked streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in protest of tomorrow's summit.

An estimated 25,000 people took part in a mass prayer service at the Western Wall today against Olmert's positions at Annapolis; afterwards large crowds converged for a protest outside the prime minister's Jerusalem residence. Another estimated 10,000 Israelis rallied today in the center of Jerusalem, with many holding placards denouncing land giveaways.

"Ehud Olmert, like Abu Mazen (Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas) and George Bush, is a lame duck and all they can offer are expectations which will ultimately blow up in our faces," said Danny Dayan, chairman of the Yesha council of Jewish settlements.

At a protest at the Western Wall, Knesset Member Uri Ariel told the crowd: "It is critical for us to offer prayer to our Father in Heaven when the prime minister wants to sell our national homeland. We are here [at the Wall] to say that we trust in God and that Olmert has no mandate to give up Jerusalem."

Knesset Member David Rotem of the Yisrael Beitenu party, which is part of Olmert's government coalition, said: "We’re all here as one to say to the government of Israel – do not raise your hand against Jerusalem, do not raise your hand against the settlements in Judea and Samaria. We will not allow the prime minister and defense minister to freeze the expansion of settlements in Judea and Samaria, and we will continue to populate it."

Shaul Goldstein, spokesman for a major West Bank Jewish community, said at a rally Olmert didn't represent the Israeli public at Annapolis.

"The people of Israel did not give you a mandate to give away its property and what belongs to it historically ... you have no mandate, sir," said Goldstein.

Yeshiva students tomorrow plan to encircle Jerusalem's Old City walls in protest of Annapolis, and a massive rally is planned for the center of the city.

While some dismiss the statements of protest leaders as rhetoric, recent polls of the general population here show Olmert doesn't have the public's backing to withdraw from the West Bank or Jerusalem.

A survey sponsored last week by the Israel Policy Center for Promoting Parliamentary Democracy and Jewish Values in Israeli Public Life found 61 percent of the general Israeli public opposes a withdrawal from most of the West Bank and handing the strategic territory to the Palestinians.

Seventy-seven percent of Israelis polled said they believe Abbas lacked the power to prevent attacks from the West Bank.

If Israel indeed evacuated the West Bank, some 55 percent of Israelis believe Palestinians will use the territory to fire rockets into Jewish population centers, and 65 percent believe there is a high or very high chance Hamas would take control of the area, according to the new poll. Hamas leaders in recent days warned their terror group would take over the West Bank if Israel withdrew.

Some 55 percent of Israelis believe the Knesset should remove Olmert from office due to multiple criminal investigations against him charging various degrees of financial and political corruption.

Also, 53 percent of Israelis said they believe the main reason Olmert was seeking an accord with the Palestinians was because of concern for his political future and not Israel's national interests.

Rabbis to Israeli PM: Come home now!
Warn 'merely talking about withdrawal' leads to terrorism

Leading rabbis, members of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace which is comprised of over 350 prominent rabbis in Israel have sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert calling on him to come back to Israel and not to participate in the Conference in Annapolis which begins Tuesday.

“Tell President George Bush that Israel wants true peace and therefore cannot take part in such a conference whose goal is to extract more and more concessions and withdrawals from Israel. This will bring to bloodshed and increase terrorism in the area. This is what has been happening time and time again after every concession or withdrawal in the last 15 years.”

The rabbis also wrote that President Bush himself is aware of the historical fact that every piece of land that was given to the Palestinians turned into a launching pad and training camp to fire on Israel and carry out terrorist attacks.

“The chronological order events of the past prove without a doubt that by merely talking about withdrawal encourages and leads to terrorist attacks, to deaths and casualties, G-d forbid. Only when Israel will present this fact clearly and firmly will it receive international recognition as a country that seeks peace,” the rabbis continued.

“One doesn’t even have to go far back, just last week when talk of the conference intensified a Jew was killed in a terrorist attack and rockets were fired on Israeli town from Gush Katif, the area that was given to the Palestinians in exchange for peace.”

The Rabbis noted that the Torah and Jewish Code of Law which are concerned for the security and wellbeing of every Jew foresaw this painful axiom hundreds of years ago when it ruled that it is absolutely forbidden to give up even one inch of land that is under Jewish control to foreigners because it will only lead to bloodshed. It is a matter of life or death for all residents of Israel.

“It is still not too late to stop the bloodshed that this conference will lead to,” the rabbis pleaded, “Pack your bags, take your entourage and come back home immediately if not sooner! The Rabbis told Olmert.

Israel, Palestinians OK negotiating plan

By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer 14 minutes ago

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed Tuesday to immediately resume long-stalled talks toward a deal by the end of next year that would create an independent Palestinian state, using a U.S.-hosted Mideast peace conference to launch their first negotiations in seven years.

In a joint statement read by President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged to start discussions on the core issues of the conflict next month and accepted the United States as arbiter of interim steps.

"We agree to immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues without exception, as specified in previous agreements," it said.

"We agree to engage in vigorous, ongoing and continuous negotiations and shall make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008," said the document, which was reached after weeks of intense diplomacy and was uncertain until just before Bush announced it.

The conference at the U.S. Naval Academy has been greeted by heavy skepticism, with many questioning its timing and prospects for success, especially given the weaknesses of Olmert and Abbas, whose leadership is challenged by the militant Hamas movement.

And the task is complicated by Arab pressure to resolve other long simmering disputes Israel has with Syria and Lebanon.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, in his remarks to the conference, called for the earliest possible resumption of talks with Lebanon and Syria, which wants the return of the Golan Heights, land seized by Israel during the 1967 war.

"We have come to support the launching of serious and continuing talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis that will address all the core and final status issues," Saud said. "These talks must be followed by the launching of the Syrian and Lebanese tracks at the earliest."

Bush, in a separate address, defended the decision to hold the Annapolis conference, saying it was the right time to launch peace talks and urging representatives of more than 50 participating countries and organizations to support the effort.

"First, the time is right because Palestinians and Israelis have leaders who are determined to achieve peace," he said. "Second, the time is right because a battle is under way for the future of the Middle East and we must not cede victory to the extremists. Third, the time is right because the world understands the urgency of supporting these negotiations."

Under the workplan, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will begin talks on the most contentious issues in the conflict on Dec. 12 and Abbas and Olmert will hold private biweekly talks throughout the process, which will be monitored by the United States.

Yet none of those difficult issues were mentioned in the joint document, which was to be endorsed by the conference participants, including key Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and Syria, later in the day.

And, despite their agreement and impassioned rhetoric, neither Olmert nor Abbas showed any sign of yielding on the fundamental differences that have led to the collapse of all previous peace efforts: the borders of a Palestinian state, the status of disputed Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

But Olmert did promise that "the negotiations will address all the issues which thus far have been evaded. We will not avoid any subject. While this will be an extremely difficult process for many of us, it is nevertheless inevitable."

For his part, Abbas made an impassioned appeal to Israelis to support the peace process, saying that war and terrorism "belong to the past."

"Neither we nor you must beg for peace from the other. It is a joint interest for us and you," he said. "Peace and freedom is a right for us, just as peace and security is a right for you and us."

"It is time for the cycle of blood, violence and occupation to end. It is time for us to look at the future together with confidence and hope. It is time for this tortured land that has been called the land of love and peace to live up to its name," Abbas said.

His speech was immediately rejected by Hamas, which stormed to power in the Gaza Strip in June, a month before Bush announced plans for the peace conference.

Abbas "has no mandate to discuss, to agree, or to erase any word related to our rights," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in Gaza. "He is isolated (and) represents himself only."

In the face of such resistance, Arab support for the process is deemed essential and Olmert, speaking directly to those at the conference who have no relations with his country, said: "It is time to end the boycott and alienation toward the state of Israel."

"We no longer and you no longer have the privilege of clinging to dreams which are disconnected from the suffering of our peoples," he said.

After reading aloud the freshly reached agreement, Bush shook hands with Abbas and Olmert. Then those leaders shook each other's hands.

To maximize the moment of potential breakthrough, the three went through the gestures again. This time, they clasped hands together. And, for a moment, Bush stepped back and raised his hands to encourage the other two to come together for a handshake, which they did.

It harkened back to a memorable image of his predecessor, Bill Clinton, in one of his own Mideast efforts.

Saud applauded after Olmert finished his speech, according to a member of the U.S. delegation.

It was a significant gesture from the nation considered the linchpin of Arab support for the coming talks. Saud, a veteran of past peace efforts, had said before the session that he would not shake Olmert's hand. Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic relations with Israel, and Saud told reporters he would do nothing to normalize relations until after Palestinian statehood and other territorial issues were resolved.

Saeb Erekat, a principal Palestinian negotiator, sounded upbeat, saying that after seven years of a stalemate "now we have an opportunity" to get back to serious talks with broad backing.

"We have the whole world. We have President Bush. And it is going to be two states living side by side in peace," Erekat said. "Today is over. What's important is tomorrow."

Privately, however, members of the Palestinian delegation expressed skepticism that a deal resolving all the so-called final status issues could be reached within a year, and by the end of Bush's term in January 2009.

The joint document is general and doesn't deal with the difficult issues that that long divided Israel and the Palestinians. And the negotiation process is expected to be very tough and very long, according to Palestinians, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they didn't want to publicly spoil the conference's positive atmosphere.

The Palestinians believe Israel is not ready for total peace and Olmert will face a difficult time politically as any deal takes shape. Meantime, Abbas is seen as reliable, but also weak and a leader who can't in the end deliver on an agreement.

Israel, Palestinians OK negotiating plan (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071127/ap_on_go_pr_wh/mideast_summit;_ylt=AtxcB_wbyd9vtj5FBxlvlyOs0NUE)

Israelis, Palestinians agree on framework for peace talks
1 hour, 6 minutes ago

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (CNN) -- Israeli and Palestinian leaders will "immediately launch" peace talks -- aimed at creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel -- and they hope to finish negotiations before 2009, President Bush announced Tuesday.

The leaders agreed Tuesday on a document that will guide those negotiations, Bush said during remarks at the U.S. Naval Academy, where all three leaders attended a U.S.-brokered Mideast summit.

Both sides also agreed to form steering committees which will begin meeting December 12. Thereafter, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet every two weeks to follow up on the negotiations and offer assistance, the statement says.

The three leaders are scheduled to meet again Wednesday.

The document does not contain specifics about the contentious issues dividing the Israelis and Palestinians, Bush said.

Rather, it focuses on principles that will guide future talks, such as a commitment to "bring an end to bloodshed, suffering and decades of conflict" and a promise to "propagate a culture of peace and nonviolence," Bush said. VideoWatch Bush reveal hopes for end to bloodshed »

The document is intended to provide guidelines for talks on the testier sticking points, such as settlements, timelines, the role of the international community, the fate of Jerusalem and the labeling of Israel as a "Jewish state."

Arabs and Palestinians have opposed calling Israel a Jewish state because, they say, it would preclude many refugees from returning to Israel, and the label fails to account for thousands of Arabs residing there.

Some of those issues are addressed in the so-called "road map" to peace established in 2003 by the Mideast Quartet comprised of the U.S., U.N., Russia and European Union. Bush said Tuesday that Abbas and Olmert have agreed "to immediately implement their respective obligations" under the "road map."

The issue of Jerusalem also poses problems. After Bush's announcement, Abbas said Tuesday that he will not back down on his demand that East Jerusalem be named the capital of any future Palestinian state. Nor will he relent on his calls for Israel to dismantle its outposts in the West Bank, he said.

"I must defend the right of our people to see a new dawn," Abbas said, calling also for the release of Palestinian prisoners, the lifting of roadblocks and the removal of what he called the "separation wall" that surrounds the West Bank.

Olmert spoke after Abbas, saying that Israel was "prepared to make a painful compromise, rife with risks, in order to realize these aspirations" of peace.

Olmert said he had "hesitations and doubts" about attending Tuesday's summit, but Israel nonetheless "will be part of an international mechanism" to establish the guidelines and boundaries for a future Palestinian state.

Olmert called on the Arab nations in attendance to also make concessions, namely to end their boycott of Israel. See who's there and what they want »

"It does not help you, and it hurts us," Olmert said, citing his nation's peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan as "a solid foundation of stability and hope in our region."

Earlier, an Israeli official attending the U.S.-brokered Mideast summit said Israel is "ready now for a deal."

Olmert and Abbas have "very good chemistry," the official said. The two leaders met Monday night to hammer out a statement that could guide peace negotiations but could not come to an agreement.

The official said some of the 40 nations represented at the summit have offered Israel a chilly welcome, but their participation alone is encouraging.

"The Saudis won't shake our hands; the Syrians won't say nice things about us," the Israeli official said. "But they're here."

The coming months will be crucial to the peace deal's fate, the official said. That sentiment was echoed by Bush during remarks later in the day.

Bush said that while Tuesday's summit is an important event, it is merely a starting block for future negotiations that he hopes will ultimately yield a Palestinian state existing peacefully alongside Israel.

"Today, Palestinians and Israelis each understand that helping the other to realize their aspirations is the key to realizing their own -- and both require an independent, democratic, viable Palestinian state," Bush said, explaining that a two-state solution is the path to peace for both nations.

"Our purpose here in Annapolis is not to conclude an agreement. Rather, it is to launch negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians," he said. "For the rest of us, our job is to encourage the parties in this effort -- and to give them the support they need to succeed."

Israeli and Palestinian officials worked late into the night Monday on the joint agreement to dictate how negotiations would move forward, diplomats from several delegations said.

But the two sides disagreed on several issues and there was no guarantee that any work plan would be agreed upon, the diplomats said. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was cautious but hopeful the parties could finish an agreement, diplomats said.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh denounced the Annapolis summit in a televised address Tuesday.

"The Palestinian people will not be bound by anything the Palestinian Authority agrees to in Annapolis," he said.

The representatives of the more than 40 countries attending the conference include a wide array of Arab nations.

The talks come amid domestic distractions for both Olmert's government and that of Abbas. Abbas has been involved in a political power struggle against Gaza-based leaders of Hamas, a group that Israel considers terrorist and which opposes the Jewish state.

Palestinian protesters, anxious about possible concessions by the Abbas delegation, have taken to the streets with demonstrations.

Olmert's administration has been plagued by low approval ratings in opinion polls in the wake of Israel's 2006 war against Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants.

Israelis, Palestinians agree on framework for peace talks (http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/11/27/mideast.summit/index.html)

Olmert: Reality formed in 1967 to change significantly

Israel, PA agree to strive for accord by end of 2008
By Barak Ravid , Aluf Benn, and Assaf Uni, Haaretz Correspondents and Haaretz Service
Tags: Israel, Annapolis summit

Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed Tuesday to immediately launch peace negotiations in order to reach an agreement by the end of 2008, U.S. President George Bush said in his remarks at the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland.

Prior to his prepared address, Bush read a joint statement agreed on by the sides during last-minute negotiations at the summit.

Bush spoke before representatives of more than 50 nations and organizations that he had invited to Annapolis for a day-long conference aimed at restarting the stalled peace process. Among the participants were the foreign ministers of most Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, as well as the Syrian deputy foreign minister.

"We agreed to immediately launch good faith, bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty resolving all outstanding issues, including core issues, without exception," Bush said, reading from a joint statement.

According to the statement, Israel and the PA also agreed to implement their commitments under the long-dormant U.S.-backed road map for Middle East peace.

According to sources in the Israeli delegation, the Palestinians had refused to sign the document until the last minute.

Bush met Tuesday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at the Annapolis summit. The president met separately with Olmert and Abbas on Monday evening.

The first peace talks are to be held December 12, Bush said, and are to continue biweekly after that.

In his address following the meeting, Bush said, "The Palestinians understand that terrorism is the enemy standing in the way of a Palestinians state."

"The [final peace] settlement will establish Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people just as Israel is the homeland for the Jewish people," said Bush.

"The United States will keep its strong commitment to the security of the State of Israel and its existence as a homeland for the Jewish people," he continued.

The U.S. president also urged the Palestinians to dismantle the "infrastructure of terror," and called on Israel to end settlement expansion as well as evacuate the illegal West Bank settlement outposts.

"The task begun here in Annapolis will be difficult," Bush acknowledged. "This is the beginning of the process, not the end of it."

"The time is right, the cause is just, and with hard effort, I know they can succeed," he said.

Bush also expressed strong support for democracy in Lebanon, saying it was crucial for Middle East peace.

Olmert: Reality that emerged in 1967 to change significantly
In his address, Olmert said Israel was ready for painful concessions for peace, and to dramatically change the reality that emerged following the 1967 Six-Day War.

"We want peace," he continued. We demand the end of terror, incitement and hatred. We are prepared to make a painful compromise, rife with risks, in order to realize these aspirations."

"The negotiations will address all of the issues which we have thus far avoided dealing with," he continued. " am convinced that the reality that emerged in our region in 1967 will change significantly. I know this. Many of my people know this. We are prepared for it."

Olmert said Israel was offering an outstretched hand for peace, despite all its concerns.

"The ongoing shooting of Qassam rockets against tens of thousands of residents in the south of Israel, particularly in the city of Sderot, serves as a warning sign, one which we cannot overlook," he said. "I have come here, despite the concerns and the doubts and the hesitations."

"I believe that there is no path other than the path of peace. I believe that there is no just solution other than the solution of two national states for two peoples," he said. "I believe that there is no path that does not involve painful compromise for you, the Palestinians, and for us, the Israelis."

The prime minister said he did not come to Annapolis to "settle historical accounts" for the conflict, adding that he was aware of that Palestinians too have suffered greatly.

Olmert expressed hopes that the sides could resolve the refugee issue, one of the toughest sticking points. "Israel will be part of an international mechanism that will assist in finding a solution to this problem," he said.

The prime minister said that a peace agreement could only be implemented, in "gradual and careful" steps, after the road map is fully carried out. "We will abide by all of our obligations, and so will you."

"There isn't a single Arab state in the north, in the east or in the south with which we do not seek peace," he said. "There isn't a single Muslim state with which we do not want to establish diplomatic relations."

The prime minister took the opportunity to call for the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldiers Gilad Shalit, Ehud (Udi) Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. "I long for the day when I can see Gilad, Eldad and Udi back with their families," he said. "And I will continue relentlessly in my efforts to achieve their release."

Abbas: Israel must end occupation of all PA lands, including E. J'lem
In his address, Abbas called for an end to the "occupation of all Palestinian lands since 1967, including East Jerusalem, as well as the Syrian Golan and occupied Lebanese territory," as well as a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem.

"We need East Jerusalem to be our capital, and to establish open relations with West Jerusalem," he continued, urging respect for the holy places of all religions.

"I am not overstating it, Mr. President, if I say the region is at a cross-roads between the pre-Annapolis phase and the post-Annapolis phase," he continued. "We are facing a test as our credibility as a whole - the United States, the Quartet, and the whole international community ... Israel, Palestine and the Arab states as well."

The PA chairman also praised Arab states for attending the summit, saying it proved the sincerity of Arab states to continue what they started by launching a peace initiative in 2002.

Abbas also called on Bush to ensure that Israel releases Palestinian prisoners.

Olmert: Reality formed in 1967 to change significantly (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/928637.html)

Israel Makes Sole Decision on Jerusalem

by Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert informed American Jewish leaders Monday that Jews outside of Israel have no right to intervene in any decision regarding the status of Jerusalem.

Olmert declared at a news conference Monday following his meeting with leaders of U.S. Jewish communities that "the government of Israel has a sovereign right to negotiate anything on behalf of Israel," making it clear that Jews outside of Israel had no right to participate in decisions about the future of Jerusalem. The prime minister told reporters that the issue had "been determined long ago."

His remarks were seen as a slap to American Jewish leaders who oppose tentative plans by the Olmert administration to put Jerusalem on the negotiating table.

Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Vice President of the National Council of Young Israel, told hundreds of Jews in Chicago Monday night that "Yerushalayim is not for discussion, Yerushalayim is not for sale, Yerushalayim must remain undivided forever." Participants at the prayer vigil were led by the rabbis of the community in chanting tehillim (psalms) and speaking out against the division of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel. A statement sent to the media noted that "for at least one night both the Religious Zionist/Modern Orthodox and Aguda communities stood side by side to pray for what most matters."

The prime minister's statement also did not seem to take into account a declaration that was made decades ago by his predecessor, a founding father and the first Prime Minister of the State of Israel, David Ben Gurion during a session of the first Knesset in Tel Aviv.

"The attempt to sever Jewish Jerusalem from the State of Israel," warned Ben Gurion in 1949, "will not advance the cause of peace in the Middle East or in Jerusalem itself. Israelis will give their lives to hold on to Jerusalem, just as the British would for London, the Russians for Moscow and the Americans for Washington."

The Orthodox Union (OU) immediately responded to the prime minister's remarks with a statement saying it did not intend to dictate policy to Israel, but expressed its "resolute stand" that all Jews in the world have a share in "the holy city of Jerusalem."

Agudath Israel of America adopted a resolution Sunday at its 85th national convention in Connecticut bluntly stating "Israel should not relinquish parts of Jerusalem to Palestinian sovereignty, and the American government should not pressure the Israeli government into doing so."

Both statements echoed an assertion published on the website of the Coordinating Council on Jerusalem which states unequivocally that "World Jewry opposes Israeli negotiations which would include any discussion of ceding sovereignty over part or all of Jerusalem."

The group soberly notes in its statement that this is "the first time since the establishment of the State of Israel that a significant group of American Jewish organizations have created a broad united front to pursue a policy directly involving Israel that is based on an explicit principle that supercedes deference to the sitting Israeli government."

American Jewish and Christian leaders met Monday with White House officials to discuss their concerns about the events taking place in Annapolis Tuesday.

Nathan Diament, public policy director for the Orthodox Union, led the group of American Jewish and Christian leaders who met with Stephen Hadley, the National Security Advisor for U.S. President George W. Bush and other senior White House officials.

Included in the delegation was Jeff Ballabon, head of the Coordinating Council for Jerusalem, as well as representatives from Agudath Israel and the National Council of Young Israel, David Brog of the Christians United for Israel, the Southern Baptist Convention and former presidential candidate Gary Bauer.

"We had a constructive and meaningful conversation…." said Diament following the meeting, adding "We were happy to share with them the perspective of Americans who in their synagogues and church pews regularly pray for the peace of Israel and the rebuilding of Jerusalem."

Israel Makes Sole Decision on Jerusalem (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124387)

Framework for Mideast Peace Talks Set at Conference

By STEVEN LEE MYERS and HELENE COOPER

ANNAPOLIS, Md., Nov. 27 — President Bush today announced a joint decision between Israeli and Palestinian leaders to work toward a peace agreement by the end of 2008.

Flanked by the two leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Mr. Bush congratulated them for agreeing to follow a “road map to a permanent two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Mr. Bush said negotiations would begin within weeks to establish “a democratic Palestinian state that will live side by side with Israel in peace and security.”

But the agreement merely creates a framework for talks, and does not address the fundamental issues between Israel and a future Palestine, including Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the final borders of a Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem, and the fate of Palestinian refugees who left, or were forced to leave, their homes in Israel.

The agreement was reached after weeks of intense negotiations and it was not clear until Bush stepped to the podium in the majestic Memorial Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis that the two sides would come together on how to move forward on the path toward peace.

“Today, Palestinians and Israelis each understand that helping the other to realize their aspirations is the key to realizing their own, and both require an independent, democratic, viable Palestinian state,” Bush said.

“Such a state will provide Palestinians with the chance to lead lives of freedom, purpose and dignity. And such a state will help provide Israelis with something they have been seeking for generations: to live in peace with their neighbors.”

The gathering at the United States Naval Academy included delegations representing 49 countries and international organizations, and it brought about the highest-level official contacts between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which do not have diplomatic relations.

As a sign of how difficult the talks will be, violence broke out during demonstrations in the West Bank even as the leaders spoke, killing at least one, when security forces loyal to Mr. Abbas clashed with Islamists who brand him a traitor for taking part in the Annapolis talks.

Mr. Bush, in his remarks, delivered in the frescoed Memorial Hall beneath a replica battle flag declaring “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” said that the time had come for a peace agreement, even as he emphasized that Tuesday’s meeting was only the beginning of a peace process, not its conclusion.

“First, the time is right because Palestinians and Israelis have leaders who are determined to achieve peace,” his prepared remarks read. “Second, the time is right because a battle is under way for the future of the Middle East, and we must not cede victory to the extremists. Third, the time is right because the world understands the urgency of supporting these negotiations.”

Expectations that Mr. Bush would address those issues rose this week as negotiators were unable to reach public agreement.

Mr. Bush acknowledged that a difficult road lied ahead. “Achieving this goal will not be easy,” he said in the excerpts of his prepared remarks. “If it were easy, it would have happened a long time ago.”

One Palestinian official said that one obstacle to the joint statement had been Israel’s refusal to include a reference to the Arab League peace initiative. That initiative, which was reaffirmed by Arab states earlier this year, calls on Israelis and Palestinians to reach an “agreed” resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue.

Israeli officials do not like that term and have been adamant that Palestinian refugees have a right of return only to a future Palestinian state, and not to Israel. They fear that including the Arab League language in the joint statement could handcuff them later in negotiations.

State Department officials had been pressuring both sides to reach agreement on the joint statement and stepped up their efforts in recent days.

A State Department official said this morning that simply organizing the meeting amounted to a success, especially given the participation of so many Arab nations. The participants included many other nations that have not previously been as deeply involved in Middle East peace efforts, but whose presence gave today’s meetings a broad international cast. Among them were China, Brazil, Poland and South Africa.

Framework for Mideast Peace Talks Set at Conference (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/washington/27cnd-prexy.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnlx=1196190061-i8t6gqqezZbOzPAxXRWroQ&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin)

Hard-liners oppose Mideast talks in US

By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer Tue Nov 27, 11:18 AM ET

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip demonstrated Tuesday against the Middle East peace conference in the U.S., while the Islamic militant group's leader insisted it was "doomed to failure."

In the West Bank city of Hebron, Palestinian police loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas violently dispersed a demonstration against the peace conference, killing one protester, medical officials said.

Abbas is attending the Annapolis, Md., conference and protesters filling a huge square in Gaza City called him a "collaborator" for participating and chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Hamas government in Gaza, expressed dismay over the participation of 16 Arab nations at the U.S. summit. They included Saudi Arabia and Syria, a key Hamas patron.

The Arab masses "will reject ... any concessions to the Zionist enemy," Haniyeh said. "We are sure that the Annapolis conference will not change the reality of history and geography," he added. "Any conference that goes beyond this reality is doomed to failure."

The rival government of Abbas in the West Bank banned protests against the peace conference to preserve "stability and security."

Enforcing the ban, police broke up small demonstrations throughout the Palestinian territory.

The Liberation Party, a tiny Islamic group, said Hisham Baradiyeh, a 36-year-old member, was shot in the chest. The group calls for the establishment of a pan-Muslim state through peaceful means.

Several people were seriously injured, medical officials said.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Ashraf Ajrami said there was a "plot to harm the standing" of Abbas' government while he is in the international limelight. He said the government "must investigate the events surrounding the incident" in which the protester died.

In other violence, Israeli troops fatally shot two Hamas militants in separate incidents early Tuesday in Gaza, the army and Islamic group said.

"Annapolis is a disaster for us," said Amina Hasanat, a 37-year-old mother of eight who demonstrated in Gaza City. Dressed in a black robe and black and green headband, she predicted the conference would end in failure. "This will be an advantage for the resistance," she said.

Gaza's Hamas rulers have been staging daily demonstrations against the conference, restating their commitment to Israel's destruction and promising to reject any decisions that come out of Annapolis. The criticism has grown increasingly vitriolic, with one Hamas leader on Monday calling Abbas a "traitor."

Polls show a majority of both Palestinians and Israelis favor a negotiated settlement to the conflict. However, a majority on each side is also skeptical that the current peace push will bear fruit.

Hamas violently seized control of Gaza in June after routing forces loyal to Abbas, and his lack of control of Gaza has raised questions about his ability to carry out a future peace deal. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he will not implement a peace agreement without a halt to militant attacks from Gaza.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Olmert said the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan calls on the Palestinians to disarm militants.

But Haniyeh insisted Hamas would not disarm.

"We will stand firmly in the face of policies that attack the will of our people, our factions and our weapons of resistance," Haniyeh said. "We reaffirm the legitimacy of resistance and support it as a natural right."

After Haniyeh's speech, the Gaza protest gained strength, beginning with several thousand pro-Hamas university students and quickly swelling to tens of thousands of people. Smaller militant groups, including Islamic Jihad, also took part.

"Today you are here to send a message to those who say the land of Palestine is not for sale," said Mahmoud Zahar, a fiery Hamas leader. "Whoever thinks we will recognize a Jewish state ... are deluding themselves. There will be no recognition of the state of Israel."

Despite the harsh language, the gathering was more subdued than past Hamas rallies. Many demonstrators milled about and appeared uninterested during the speeches.

Children played or enjoyed ice cream, and women chatted. Unlike other Hamas rallies, there were no public displays of weapons, although protest organizers tried to energize the crowd by playing recordings of gunfire.

In Ramallah, about 1,000 supporters waving their movement's black flag tried to march from a large mosque in the town's center, but were immediately surrounded by police, who began rapidly firing live ammunition over their heads to disperse them.

Many ran back into the mosque and were surrounded. Associated Press reporters saw police beating protesters with sticks in an attempt to disperse the protests. An ambulance rushed to the scene, siren wailing, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

In Hebron, police and hundreds of protesters threw stones at each other, even as security men fired into the air. Around 50 protesters was arrested, officials said.

There were similar scenes of chaos in the northern West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin. Police tried to prevent reporters from covering the protests, and seized the camera of one AP photographer.

There have also protests against the peace conference on the Israeli side. More than 20,000 Israelis gathered Monday at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, to oppose it.

Hard-line opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the conference on Monday, saying he sees it as the continuation of "one-sided concessions."

Hard-liners oppose Mideast talks in US (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians;_ylt=Arw3fRY3LrzY2fqtUDMDyR8LewgF)

Syria defends decision to attend summit

By ALBERT AJI and NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD, Associated Press Writers 46 minutes ago

DAMASCUS, Syria - The U.S.-brokered Mideast peace conference Tuesday raised tensions between allies Syria and Iran. Damascus defended its participation, while Iran said it was surprised by Syria's decision and warned that Arab countries risk falling for an Israeli plot.

The two hard-line countries' alliance since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution has survived Syrian-Israeli peace talks in the 1990s. But this time, Iran feels it is an implicit target of the Annapolis conference, believing it aims to stem Iranian influence in the Mideast.

Though there is widespread skepticism over the conference in the Arab world — including in Syria — Damascus made clear it has its own interests: better relations with Arab nations and the West and the possibility of a peace deal with Israel that would win the return of the Golan Heights, seized by the Jewish state in 1967.

Syria is attending the conference "because peace is its choice and because it has made strides in previous negotiations to achieve it," the state-run Syrian daily Tishrin said in an editorial Tuesday. Syria "is ready to go to the ends of the earth to achieve this objective."

Washington has made clear it hopes that bringing Syria to Annapolis can crack the alliance of its top rivals in the Mideast, who both support the Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups.

Syria — which hosts the top Hamas leadership — is not about to break away and it was not clear how deep the tensions go. Damascus has expressed deep doubts about the conference and sent its deputy foreign minister, rather than the foreign minister, in a sign of its discontent.

David Schenker, a senior Arab politics fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Syrians must have consulted with Tehran beforehand, and would be representing common interests at the conference.

"These states have a strategic relationship of decades. They have an understanding," said Schenker. "The Iranians are not really surprised that Syria is attending ... they are just warning the Syrians not to stray too far off of the reservation."

Schenker said the two countries likely discussed possible gains from the conference, including international legitimacy and influence in the region for Syria. "They like the process, negotiating, and they like international legitimacy. All these things are in both Syrian and Iranian interests," he said.

Yet Iran's irritation was clear, though Tehran avoided direct criticism of Damascus, instead unleashing a volley of condemnations of the gathering.

"We were surprised by the Syrian position (to attend), and we said that we do not support the conference. We expressed our opinion clearly and openly," Hossein Shariatmadari, an adviser to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.

He said the conference was a "a plot against the Palestinians."

On Monday, Iranian demonstrators protested outside the Jordanian Embassy in Tehran; Jordan's monarch had visited Damascus before the conference and urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to attend. The protesters threw eggs at the embassy, saying in a statement that "those who recognize Israel commit treason against Muslims and Palestinians" — a reference to Jordan's peace agreement with Israel.

Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham said Iran was not in favor of seeing "Islamic countries, such as Saudi Arabia, ... stand next to the U.S. and Israel."

As the conference opened in Maryland on Tuesday, with delegations from 50 nations and organizations, skepticism was high across the Arab world. Arab governments were hesitant from the start to participate, fearing the conference would not commit Israel to tackle the most serious issues in peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Many in the region fear the Arabs will be pushed into concessions and normalization with Israel without achieving their aims — the return of lands seized in 1967, the return of Palestinian refugees and a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

The supreme leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Mahdi Akef, warned in an interview with the London-based Arabic channel Al-Hawar that "the West is trying hard to eradicate the Islamic world, and on top of it the Palestinian issue."

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, said the Arabs were attending the conference as "false witnesses" to the peace process.

The Annapolis conference, he wrote, aims to "set the basis for ... an Arab-Israeli front under American leadership to strike Iran."

Syria defends decision to attend summit (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/syria_iran;_ylt=AgRUJHB3VyiSGNvYbexgBXQLewgF)

Saudi official rules out handshake with Israelis
26 Nov 2007 23:06:37 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Caren Bohan

WASHINGTON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's participation in the U.S.-sponsored talks on Middle East peace was seen as a diplomatic coup for the Bush administration but the kingdom has made clear there will be no handshakes with Israeli officials.

"We are not here for theater. We are here for the serious business of making peace. We are not here to give an impression that everything is normal," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters on Monday, on the eve of the conference to be held in Annapolis, Maryland.

"We will not do anything that will divert from the seriousness of the occasion, (such as) shaking hands to give an impression of something that is not there," he said.

Saudi Arabia had been noncommittal until last week over whether it would attend the Annapolis conference. The kingdom, which is the birthplace of Islam, has no diplomatic relations with Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert suggested he would not be offended by the lack of handshake, nor would he push the issue.

"I won't extend my hand to whoever isn't ready to shake the hand of the people of Israel," Olmert said, referring to the Saudi foreign minister. "But I am happy he is here."

Handshakes have been important symbols in past Middle East peacemaking efforts.

In 1979, when Egypt became the first of any of Israel's neighbors to sign a peace treaty with it, the deal was sealed with a handshake on the White House lawn between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

And in 1993, with U.S. President Bill Clinton looking on, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat shook hands in public for the first time.

Bush last week telephoned Saudi King Abdullah to formally invite his country to participate in the Annapolis conference.

Faisal said the Saudis agreed to attend because they had been given "the assurance that the United States will use its full influence in the negotiations for final status to bring about an agreement" between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

"If the two sides don't come with enough ideas to settle these issues, we assume that the United States will come with its own ideas," he said.

Saudi official rules out handshake with Israelis (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N26424077.htm)

Israelis, Palestinians agree new bilateral talks
herb keinon, jerusalem post correspondent
THE JERUSALEM POST
Nov. 27, 2007

In an august ceremony here, Israel and the Palestinian Authority - after months of wrangling that went down to the very last minute - formally launched a new round of bilateral negotiations they hope will culminate in an agreement on the establishment of the new state of Palestine alongside Israel within a year.

US President George W. Bush, who initiated this conference more than four months ago and has set a breakthrough in the Middle East as a key goal of his last year in office, read the joint understanding that the sides agreed upon just before the three leaders delivered speeches at the US Naval Academy's Memorial Hall.

Each of the speeches pledged allegiance to the vision of a two-state solution, and were delivered to the applause and endorsement of representatives from more than 40 countries, including some 20 Arab and Islamic states, the vast majority of which have no diplomatic ties with Israel.

Saying that the parties were meeting to "lay the foundation for the establishment of a new nation - a democratic Palestinian state that will live side-by-side with Israel in peace and security," Bush said that the joint statement represented a "strong start."

"In furtherance of the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security, we agree to immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty, resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues without exception, as specified in previous agreements," Bush read from the statement.

The negotiations are to start on December 12, and - according to the statement - the two sides agree "to engage in vigorous, ongoing and continuous negotiations, and shall make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008."

Olmert made clear in his speech that the negotiations would take place in Israel and the PA.

The joint understanding, which includes a declaration "to confront terrorism and incitement, whether committed by Palestinians or Israelis," calls for the establishment of a steering committee, led by the head of the delegations, that will meet continuously. The steering committee will then set up working groups to address the various issues. Abbas and Olmert will also continue with their bi-weekly meetings.

Israeli diplomatic officials said that no date had yet been set for beginning the working group sessions, and that Israel was not yet prepared for them.

Israeli officials said that one of the key elements of the joint understanding was that the US would act as referee to determine when the sides had fulfilled their commitments under the road map. Israel has said that any agreement hammered out would not be implemented until the Palestinians fulfilled their road map requirements to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza.

The join understanding had not yet been agreed upon when the parties arrived by helicopter in Annapolis in the morning. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, according to Israeli sources, gave the document to Abbas and said the time had come to sign. When he balked, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - according to both Israeli and Palestinian officials - pulled him aside and convinced him to do so.

Bush began the long-awaited conference with a speech in which he said that both the Palestinians and Israel each understood that "helping the other to realize their aspirations is key to realizing their own aspirations - and both require an independent, democratic, viable Palestinian state." Bush said this state would provide Palestinians "with the chance to lead lives of freedom and purpose and dignity," and would give Israelis something "they have been seeking for generations: to live in peace with their neighbors." Bush said that the Israelis, Palestinians and the international community all had steps they needed to take in order to bring about a successful conclusion to the process.

He said the Palestinians "must show the world they understand that while the borders of a Palestinian state are important, the nature of a Palestinian state is just as important." He called on them explicitly to dismantle the "infrastructure of terror." Israel, he said, must "show the world that they are ready to begin - to bring an end to the occupation that began in 1967, through a negotiated settlement.

He said that Israel must demonstrate its support for the creation of a Palestinian state by "removing unauthorized outposts, ending settlement expansion, and finding other ways for the Palestinian Authority to exercise its responsibilities without compromising Israel's security." He also said that the Palestinian state would be the homeland for the Palestinians, just as Israel was the homeland for the Jews.

Bush called on the Arab world, which he had labored hard over the last few weeks to get into the room, to "reach out to Israel, work toward the normalization of relations, and demonstrate in both word and deed that they believe that Israel and its people have a permanent home in the Middle East." Failure, Bush warned, would be a victory for the extremists, who he said were "seeking to impose a dark vision on the Palestinian people - a vision that feeds on hopelessness and despair to sow chaos in the Holy Land."

Bush was followed to the podium by Abbas, who - speaking in Arabic - made reference to Bush's legacy, saying, "We hope that this will be the culmination of your legacy for the world - a world more free of violence, persecution and fanaticism."

He said that the process launched at Annapolis "will lead to ending the occupation in all the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including east Jerusalem, as well as the Golan Heights and parts of Lebanon, and as it will also lead to resolving all the other permanent-status issues. Chief among these is the plight of Palestinian refugees, which must be addressed holistically - that is, in its political, human, and individual dimensions."

Abbas spoke in lofty terms about the conference, saying that the history in the region could be divided into the "pre-Annapolis era and its aftermath. In other words, the exceptional opportunity that the Arab, Islamic and international presence brings today, coupled with overwhelming Palestinian and Israeli public opinion in support of Annapolis, must be seized in order to be a launching pad for a negotiations process."

He said that the negotiations would deal with "all permanent-status issues, including Jerusalem, refugees, borders, settlements, security and water, as well as others." He called on Israel to freeze settlement construction, reopen Palestinian institutions in east Jerusalem, remove checkpoints, release prisoners and facilitate "the mission of the Palestinian Authority in restoring law and order." He reiterated that the Palestinians wanted east Jerusalem as their capital, and that this was key to any agreement.

He said this capital would have open relations with west Jerusalem, and that freedom of religion would be guaranteed.

In a direct appeal to the Israel, he said, "You are the neighbors on this small land. Neither we nor you must beg for peace from the other. It is a joint interest for us and you. Peace and freedom is a right for us, just as peace and security is a right for you and us."

"It is time for the circle of blood, violence and occupation to end. It is time for us to look at the future together with confidence and hope. It is time for this tortured land that has been called the land of love and peace to live up to its name," Abbas said.

Olmert, in his speech, was the only speaker to deal in any depth with the situation in Gaza, saying that the continued firing of Kassam rockets and Hamas's control of the Strip were all factors that "deter us from moving forward to hastily."

Yet, Olmert said he was going ahead with the process because neither Israel nor the Palestinians could any longer "cling to dreams which are disconnected from the sufferings of our peoples."

We want peace," Olmert said. "We demand an end to terror, incitement and hatred. We are willing to make painful compromises, rife with risks, in order to realize these aspirations."

Olmert, acknowledging Palestinian suffering, said that Israel would be part of an "international effort" to assist in finding a solution to the refugee problem within the framework of a future Palestinian state.

Olmert also called upon the Arab delegates in the hall to begin establishing ties.

"You cannot continue to stand by indefinitely and watch the peace train go by. It is time to end the boycott and alienation towards the State of Israel," he said.

Israelis, Palestinians agree new bilateral talks (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546740182&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

The Annapolis Declaration
THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 27, 2007

The following is the full text of the Annapolis Declaration

The representatives of the government of the state of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, represented respective by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and President Mahmoud Abbas in his capacity as Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and President of the Palestinian Authority, have convened in Annapolis, Maryland, under the auspices of President George W. Bush of the United States of America, and with the support of the participants of this international conference, having concluded the following joint understanding.

We express our determination to bring an end to bloodshed, suffering and decades of conflict between our peoples; to usher in a new era of peace, based on freedom, security, justice, dignity, respect and mutual recognition; to propagate a culture of peace and nonviolence; to confront terrorism and incitement, whether committed by Palestinians or Israelis. In furtherance of the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, we agree to immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty, resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues without exception, as specified in previous agreements.

We agree to engage in vigorous, ongoing and continuous negotiations, and shall make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008. For this purpose, a steering committee, led jointly by the head of the delegation of each party, will meet continuously, as agreed. The steering committee will develop a joint work plan and establish and oversee the work of negotiations teams to address all issues, to be headed by one lead representative from each party. The first session of the steering committee will be held on 12 December 2007.

President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert will continue to meet on a bi-weekly basis to follow up the negotiations in order to offer all necessary assistance for their advancement.

The parties also commit to immediately implement their respective obligations under the performance-based road map to a permanent two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, issued by the Quartet on 30 April 2003 - this is called the road map - and agree to form an American, Palestinian and Israeli mechanism, led by the United States, to follow up on the implementation of the road map.

The parties further commit to continue the implementation of the ongoing obligations of the road map until they reach a peace treaty. The United States will monitor and judge the fulfillment of the commitment of both sides of the road map. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, implementation of the future peace treaty will be subject to the implementation of the road map, as judged by the United States.

The Annapolis Declaration (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546742035&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Hello Dreamweaver,

Brother Bob, you and I both know from Bible Prophecy that there won't be any peace for Israel in this Age of Grace. Thanks for posting this news because it can serve as a road-marker for Bible Prophecy.

Most of the world doesn't have a clue about what GOD has already Promised will happen. Those who have studied Bible Prophecy are looking for a Seven Year Peace Treaty with Israel. The world will think this is wonderful, but we know it will be a false peace that will lead directly into the worst times in human history.

In fact, the Seven Year Peace Treaty with Israel is a KEY SIGN in Bible Prophecy that the Seven Year HORRORS of the Tribulation Period are to start. I hope and pray that most of our readers understand and appreciate why information like this is posted. For the lost, the time for accepting JESUS CHRIST as LORD and SAVIOUR is growing short.

For Christians, the time grows near for us to go to our REAL HOME - HEAVEN! This also means that our time to witness to the lost grows short.

Love In Christ,
Tom

RAPTURE

(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i160/tlr10/relig/relig150.gif)

KEEP LOOKING UP!

THE RAPTURE WILL BE A REALITY!

1 Thessalonians 4:13 NASB But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:14 NASB For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 4:15 NASB For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 NASB For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 NASB Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:18 NASB Therefore comfort one another with these words.

____________________________

1 Corinthians 15:50 NASB Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

1 Corinthians 15:51 NASB Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,

1 Corinthians 15:52 NASB in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:53 NASB For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:54 NASB But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.

1 Corinthians 15:55 NASB "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"

1 Corinthians 15:56 NASB The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;

1 Corinthians 15:57 NASB but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:58 NASB Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

Syrian, Lebanese delegates slam Israel
Herb Keinon
THE JERUSALEM POST
Nov. 28, 2007

The Syrian delegate to the Annapolis Conference delivered a strident and uncompromising speech Tuesday afternoon saying that an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan should not be considered a "painful compromise" since it was not Israel's land to begin with.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad, speaking at a workshop entitled "Towards a Comprehensive Middle East Peace," said - according to Israeli officials who heard the speech - that Israel should return the Golan, and then Damascus would consider normalization of ties.

No independent transcript of his comments was available.

According to Israeli officials, Miqdad also called on Israel to leave the Sheba Farms-Har Dov area.

As strident as Miqdad was in his comments, Lebanon's delegate - Minister of Culture Tarek Mitri - was even more so, saying that Israel needed to withdraw from not only Sheba Farms-Har Dov, but also the rest of the village of Rajr and a new area that he claimed Israel was occupying near the Sheba Farms.

"He sounded like a mouthpiece for Hizbullah propaganda," said one Israeli official, who added that Mitri had raised the issue of Lebanese prisoners, something that is always in Hizbullah's arsenal.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, meanwhile, said at one of the conference's afternoon sessions that a great deal was riding on "the success or failure of this [Annapolis] undertaking."

He said the Saudis came to Annapolis to "support the launching of serious and continuing talks" that will address all "core and final status issues." He said these talks needed to be followed by launching talks on the Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese tracks.

"It is absolutely necessary to establish an international follow-up mechanism that monitors progress in the negotiations among the parties, as well as the implementation of commitments made," he said.

He also said Israel must freeze all settlement activity, dismantle the settlement outposts, release prisoners, stop building the security barrier, remove Israeli checkpoints and lift the "siege imposed on the Palestinian people."

While in his speech Faisal did not deal with the issue of normalizing ties with Israel, a Saudi diplomat who did brief non-Israeli reporters on Tuesday said Israel could forget about normalization before peace was achieved with the Palestinians.

"You can't have the fruits of peace before you have peace," the official said.

Syrian, Lebanese delegates slam Israel (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546745039&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Negotiations on final status to get underway in 2 weeks
By Aluf Benn, Shmuel Rosner and Barak Ravid
Tags: P.A., final status, Annapolis

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Israel and the Palestinians will begin final-status negotiations on December 12, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced yesterday in a joint statement read out by U.S. President George W. Bush at the Annapolis conference.

Speaking to reporters after the conference, Bush acknowledged that he was worried about the consequences if peace talks failed, but said: "It is worth it to try."

"I don't think it's a risk to try for peace," he said. "I think it's an obligation."

In a meeting with Olmert and Abbas before the conference, Bush said that the U.S. would not impose a solution on the parties, but would assist them.

In the joint statement, which was finalized only a few minutes before the conference, Olmert and Abbas promised to try to conclude the final-status agreement by the end of 2008. However, implementation of the agreement will be conditional on fulfillment of each side's obligations under the road map peace plan.

Both sides agreed that Washington will determine whether those obligations have been fulfilled. Bush has chosen General Jim Jones, a former commander of both NATO and the American forces in Europe, to serve as the arbiter, and Jones is due to arrive in the region in the coming days.

The first stage of the road map requires the Palestinians to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure and Israel to freeze settlement construction and dismantle illegal outposts.

In his speech to the conference, Bush stressed the importance of establishing a Palestinian state and said that the timing is right because both leaders, Olmert and Abbas, truly want peace. In addition, he said, a battle is currently being waged over the future of the Middle East, "and when liberty takes root" in the West Bank and Gaza, this will "have an impact far beyond the Holy Land."

Bush also stressed that Palestine will be "a Palestinian homeland, just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people." Later in the speech, he returned to this theme, saying that the U.S. was committed "to the security of Israel as a Jewish state and homeland for the Jewish people." A source in Olmert's entourage expressed great satisfaction with these statements, as well as the fact that Bush offered no proposals of his own on how to solve core issues of the conflict such as Jerusalem, borders and the refugees.

Bush did not mention Syria in his speech, but did address a few sentences to the need to strengthen democracy in Lebanon and the importance of that country's presidential elections taking place with no outside interference.

Abbas, who gave the longest and most detailed speech, stressed that the current moment was an opportunity "that might not be repeated." He praised Olmert's desire for peace and predicted that the Annapolis conference would prove a turning point in the history of the Middle East. He also noted repeatedly that the world will be watching the subsequent Israeli-Palestinian talks, and ended by urging his people not to lose hope.

Addressing Gaza residents in particular, he promised that "the hours of darkness will end," and Gaza and the West Bank will once more be united. Israeli officials expressed satisfaction with this statement, as Olmert has said in the past that any agreement will require Abbas to assume responsibility for Gaza as well.

Addressing the Israeli people, Abbas said: "Peace is not impossible, I extend a hand to you as an equal to equals."

Olmert, who was the last speaker, said that he came "despite the fears and the doubts and the hesitations, to say to you, President Abbas, and through you to your people and to the entire Arab world: The time has come. Neither we nor you have any more time to sink in dreams disconnected from the suffering of our people." He expressed sympathy for the Palestinians' suffering, and said that the refugees - though he did not use that word - could build a better future "in the Palestinian state that will be established on the territory agreed among us." He also promised that Israel would participate in international efforts to resolve this problem.

But while Olmert spoke of "two nation-states for two peoples," Abbas cited UN Resolution 194, which the Palestinians interpret as recognizing the refugees' "right of return" to Israel.

Olmert also mentioned Bush's letter to former prime minister Ariel Sharon, which recognized the settlement blocs.

Finally, he urged the Arab states to "end the boycott the alienation and the disregard" and praised the Arab peace initiative: "I admire this initiative, respect its importance and greatly esteem its contribution."

At the end of Olmert's speech, all the Arab delegates present applauded him, with the exception of Syria's deputy foreign minister. According to members of Olmert's entourage, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal initially hesitated, but after a moment, he too joined in the applause.

After their speeches, the three leaders left the hall and the conference continued at the foreign minister level, chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed a follow-up conference in Moscow in the spring of 2008. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa supported this idea, and said that negotiations should be expanded to include Syria and Lebanon as well.

The Saudi foreign minister also urged that negotiations begin on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks, adding that much is riding on the success of the Annapolis initiative. He urged Israel to freeze construction of the settlements and the "wall" (i.e. the separation fence), free prisoners and evacuate outposts.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged the Arab states to "get off the fence" and understand that normalization is not a prize for Israel. She proposed normalization in stages.

Addressing the Palestinians, she urged them to stop mourning Israel's establishment and instead build a state of their own.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak urged the Palestinians to "say goodbye to violence" and promised to do whatever he could to help the negotiations succeed.

Olmert warns of 'end of Israel'

Ehud Olmert has said failure to negotiate a two-state solution with the Palestinians would spell the end of the State of Israel.

He warned of a "South African-style struggle" which Israel would lose if a Palestinian state was not established.

Mr Olmert was returning from the Annapolis conference in the US where he and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas pledged to launch formal peace talks.

The two leaders set a goal of reaching a peace deal with US support in 2008.

"If the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights, then the State of Israel is finished" - Ehud Olmert

Reactions to Annapolis

US President George W Bush called Annapolis, the first substantive Arab-Israeli peace talks in seven years, a "hopeful beginning" for Mid-East peace.

Mr Olmert said it was not the first time he had articulated his fears about the demographic threat to Israel as a Jewish state from a faster growing Palestinian population.

He made similar comments in 2003 when justifying the failed strategy of unilateral withdrawals from Israeli-occupied land which holds large Palestinian populations.

"If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights, then, as soon as that happens, the State of Israel is finished," Mr Olmert is quoted saying in Haaretz newspaper.

New monitor

After the ceremonies at Annapolis and the White House, the US appointed former Nato commander Gen James Jones as its new Middle East envoy.

KEY ISSUES (Below are a few links. DW)

Jerusalem (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/6668603.stm)

Water (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/6666495.stm)

Refugees (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/6659239.stm)

Borders and settlements (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/6669545.stm)

History of failed talks (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/6666393.stm)

Among his tasks will be to monitor how the Israelis and Palestinians live up to the security commitments made under the relaunched international peace plan known as the roadmap, which forms the basis for the negotiations.

"Building security in the Middle East is the surest path to making peace in the Middle East," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said of his appointment.

"Gen Jones is the best individual to lead our efforts in this essential endeavour."

Mr Bush promised to use American power "to help you as you come up with the necessary decisions to lay out a Palestinian state that will live side-by-side in peace with Israel".

According to the agreement, the Israeli and Palestinian leaders will meet every other week and teams of negotiators led by a joint steering committee will meet on 12 December.

Last year's Palestinian parliamentary election winner Hamas - which does not recognise Israel and has been shunned by the US and Israel as a terrorist organisation - immediately rejected Annapolis as a "failure".

There have been angry protests in the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas, and the West Bank since the summit.

Expectations had been low as representatives of more than 40 countries and international agencies gathered in Annapolis ahead of Tuesday's conference.

But in a joint statement concluded with only minutes to spare before the conference formally opened, the two sides agreed to launch negotiations for a treaty "resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues without exception".

Both sides have said those "core issues" will include the thorny so-called "final-status issues" - the future of Jerusalem, borders, water, refugees and settlements - which have scuppered previous attempts at a peace deal.

Olmert warns of 'end of Israel' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/7118937.stm)

God promised many things to the people of Israel.

First, He promised regeneration. This would involve the giving of a new heart (a new inner control center where the issues and direction of life are determined) and the new nature (a new favorable disposition toward God consisting of the law of God in the heart)(Jeremiah 31:33; 32:39-40; Ezekiel 36:26).

Second, God promised forgiveness of sin (Jeremiah 31:34; Ezekiel 36:25).

Third, He pledged the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:27).

Fourth, He guaranteed a universal knowledge of Jehovah among the people of Israel (Jeremiah 31:34). The context of this fourth promise indicated that God was referring to a personal experiential knowledge of Himself (the kind of knowledge which comes through a genuine salvation experience), not just a head knowledge of His existence!!

Fifth, God promised that Israel would obey Him and have a right attitude toward Him forever (Jeremiah 32:39-40; Ezekiel 36:27; 37:23-24).

Sixth, God promised many national blessings to the people of Israel. He pledged that His Spirit and words would never depart from them (Isaiah 59:21), that the nation would have a great reputation because of God’s special blessing (Isaiah 61:8-9), that Israel would have a unique relationship with Him as His special people (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:28), that God would do them good (Jeremiah 32:40-42), that wild beasts would be eliminated from their land (Ezekiel 34:25, 28), that Israel would enjoy complete security in its land (Ezekiel 34:25-28), that the nation would receive no more threats and insults from other nations (Ezekiel 34:28-29), that great abundance of food would eliminate famine (Ezekiel 34:27, 29; 36:29-30), that Israel’s land would be so luxurious that it would have the reputation of being like the Garden of Eden (Ezekiel 34:29; 36:34-35), that rainfall would be controlled perfectly (Ezekiel 34:26), that Israel’s cities would be rebuilt and inhabited (Ezekiel 36:33), that the nation would enjoy a population explosion (Ezekiel 36:37-38; 37:26), that the nation would be completely unified (Ezekiel 37:21-22), that the people of Israel would live in their own land forever (Ezekiel 37:25), that once again God would have His sanctuary in Israel and would dwell in the midst of the nation forever (Ezekiel 37:26- 28), and that God would never turn away from the people of Israel (Jeremiah 32:40).

God presented the promises of the New Covenant, instead of stating conditions for Israel, He continually said, “I will” (Jeremiah 31:31-34; 32:37-42; Ezekiel 36:24-37). This meant that the fulfillment of the promises of the New Covenant would be dependent totally upon God’s faithfulness to His word. God emphasized this fact when He said, “I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it” (Ezekiel 36:36).

Israel is, where she is because of time. If everyone else thinks tribulation will be bad for them, wait till they see whats in store for Israel.

Now I know there will be those who will disagree with me, and thats fine. Biblical prophecy is different for each person, that studies the Bible's prophecy.

Stalemate in Annapolis

Representatives of 50 nations and hundreds of reporters from around the world converged on the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, this Tuesday to attend the much-hyped, one-day summit on the Middle East. After exhaustive security checks, the reporters were ushered into the academy’s basketball stadium. From that uninviting vantage point -- only an elite few reporters were allowed anywhere near the participating leaders -- the press corps watched as President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas exchanged platitudes of peace.

Although the summit was billed as the start of a new negotiation process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, it felt dated from the onset. For instance, President Bush invoked the “road map” of April 30, 2003, specifically mentioning that precise date, as the guiding spirit of the negotiations. But on May 25, 2003, Israel added 14 reservations to the road map, almost all of which demanded that the Palestinian Authority take full responsibility to disarm all terror groups before proceeding with negotiations. By adverting to the April 30 proposal, Bush seemed to be ignoring the Israeli government’s demands and asking that Israel negotiate with the Palestinians, come what may.

To clarify whether this was indeed the case, this reporter asked State Department officials whether Abbas would be required to disarm and disband the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the terrorist organization that remains an integral part of the Fatah. The Al Aqsa Brigades remain on the US State Department list of terrorist organizations and continue to commit terrorism against Israel. Nonetheless, officials would not answer the question. In a similar vein, State Department officials were asked about their position concerning the Palestinian curriculum, which the Israel Ministry of Defense had concluded is rife with anti-Semitic incitement and in which Israel is erased from the map, thus denying any connection of Jews or Judaism to the land of Israel. After looking into the matter, the officials refused to take a stand on the issue.

Indeed, about the only thing that American officials would take a stand on is that negotiations must proceed apace -- even if the Palestinian side has failed to do the one thing asked of it by curbing anti-Israel terrorism. Thus President Bush set the tone for this week’s negotiations by saying that Abbas and Olmert would conduct biweekly negotiations beginning on December 12. In the case of disputes, President Bush declared, the US would be the “judge” as to whom was correct. But considering that U.S. officials have pointedly declined to offer an opinion on Palestinian terrorism this week, this was not exactly reassuring.

The Palestinian side has been more forthcoming. On November 23, the Palestinian Authority’s official radio outlet, “Voice of Palestine” radio, launched a preemptive attack on Israel ahead of this week’s summit. A cleric chosen by the PA declared that one of the main “obstacles in the negotiations prior to the conference” was Israel’s request to be recognized as a Jewish state. “If this request is granted and Israel is recognized as a Jewish state there will be no withdrawal to 1967 boarders, no partition of Jerusalem and no deportation of the Israeli settlers.” In short, Palestinians could not accept Israel because to do would be to accept Israel’s right to exist. For the Palestinian leadership, such recognition -- the first step to any peace process -- is unthinkable.

Prime Minister Olmert, to his credit, stated before the summit that he would stand by the principle that Israel is a Jewish state. In response to the PA’s extremist rhetoric, he called for two states, for two peoples. But nothing at this week’s summit suggested that this vision is any closer to becoming a reality.

Evangelical Leaders Reiterate Call for Two-State Solution for Israel and Palestine
Over 80 educators and ministry heads affirm efforts to negotiate lasting peace, and warn of consequences of failure.
David Neff | posted 11/29/2007 08:55PM

This week the Bush State Department is devoting its full diplomatic efforts toward bringing a two-state resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Over the past few months, they have put on a full-court press to gather a broad representation of Arab world leaders to join Israeli and Palestinian negotiators for a historic meeting in Annapolis, Maryland. Now, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have agreed to a program of sustained and focused negotiations throughout 2008.

With these cautious but hopeful beginnings, over 80 evangelical leaders have signed a statement indicating their belief "that the way forward is for the Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a fair, two-state solution."

These leaders—including Christian college and seminary presidents, denominational heads, and other ministry leaders—pledge their "ongoing support for the security of Israel," and state that "unless the situation between Israel and Palestine improves quickly, the consequences will be devastating" for Israel. Palestinians with little economic opportunity "are increasingly sympathetic to radical solutions."

An Evangelical Statement on Israel/Palestine
As evangelical Christians committed to the full authority of the Scriptures, we feel compelled to make a statement together at this historic moment in the life of the Holy Land.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is near a momentous turning point. The strife has continued—sometimes simmering, sometimes exploding in terrible conflict—for decades.

In the context of our ongoing support for the security of Israel, we believe that unless the situation between Israel and Palestine improves quickly, the consequences will be devastating. Palestinians—especially the youth who have no economic opportunity—are increasingly sympathetic to radical solutions and terrorism. As a result, the threat to Israel's security is now greater.

Likewise, the threat to America's national security is greater. Because so many of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims see America through the prism of Israel-Palestine, the longer the current situation continues, the more likely it is that anti-American attitudes, policies, and terrorist activities will increase dramatically among Muslims worldwide.

As evangelical Christians, we believe our faith compels us to speak a word together at this crucial moment.

The Bible clearly teaches that God longs for justice and peace for all people. We believe that the principles about justice taught so powerfully by the Hebrew prophets apply to all nations, including the United States, Israel, and the Palestinians. Therefore we are compelled to work for a fair, negotiated solution for both Israelis and Palestinians. We resolve to work diligently for a secure, enduring peace and a flourishing economy for the democratic State of Israel. We also resolve to work for a viable permanent, democratic Palestinian State with a flourishing economy that offers economic opportunity to all its people. We believe that the way forward is for the Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a fair, two-state solution.

We are encouraged that the Israeli and Palestinian governments have officially endorsed a two-state solution and that polls demonstrate that solid majorities in both Israel and Palestine embrace this path.

We call on all evangelicals, all Christians, and everyone of good will to join us to work and pray faithfully in the coming months for a just, lasting two-state solution in the Holy Land. We call on all involved governments to work diligently toward this goal. And we covenant to pray for the leaders of all the nations engaged in this effort, hoping for them the blessing of our Lord, who said, "Blessed are the peacemakers."

As we work and pray, we are strengthened by the truth that Christ will return some day to complete his victory over sin and injustice, and we are empowered by the knowledge that until He comes again, He summons us to support the things that promote peace and justice for everyone in the Holy Land.

cont'd next post

Signatories of An Evangelical Statement on Israel/Palestine

Thomas Armiger, General Superintendent
The Wesleyan Church

Gayle D. Beebe, President
Westmont College

David Black, President
Eastern University

Marilyn Borst, Director of Global Ministry
Peachtree Presbyterian Church

Ed Boschman, Executive Director
U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

David C. Brown, Chair
Evangelical Child & Family Agency

George K. Brushaber, President
Bethel University

Gary M. Burge, Professor of New Testament
Wheaton College

Tony Campolo, President/Founder
Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education

R. Judson Carlberg, President
Gordon College

Joseph Castleberry, President
Northwest University

Paul A. Cedar, Chairman
Mission America Coalition

Thomas A. Curry, Senior Minister
Round Lake Community Church

Craig C. Darling, U.S. Director
India Rural Evangelical Fellowship

Murray Dempster, President
Vanguard University

G. Blair Dowden, President
Huntington University

Robert P. Dugan, Jr., Retired
National Association of Evangelicals

Merrill Ewert, President
Fresno Pacific University

Leighton Ford, President
Leighton Ford Ministries

Arthur Evans Gay, Minister-at-Large
Evangelical Initiatives International

Jules Glanzer, President Elect
Tabor College

Vernon Grounds, Chancellor
Denver Seminary

Ronald Habegger, President
Fellowship of Evangelical Churches

Jack Haberer, Editor
The Presbyterian Outlook

Mike Hagan, President
Sioux Falls Seminary

Stephen A. Hayner, Professor
Columbia Theological Seminary

Dennis Hollinger, President
Evangelical Theological Seminary

Jim Holm, President
Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary

John Hubers, Former Director of Reformed Church Mission Program,
Middle East and South Asia
Reformed Church in America

John A. Huffman, Jr., Pastor
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Newport Beach
Board Chair, Christianity Today International

Ken Hunn, Executive Director
The Brethren Church

Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor
Northland Church

John K. Jenkins, Senior Pastor
First Baptist Church of Glenarden

Bruce W. Jones
National Association of Evangelicals

J. Ellsworth Kalas, President
Asbury Theological Seminary

John F. Kim, Interim President
Northern Seminary

Peter Kuzmic, President
Evangelical Theological Seminary (Osijek, Croatia)

Duane Litfin, President
Wheaton College

Jo Anne Lyon, CEO
World Hope International

V. James Mannoia, President
Greensville College

Molly T. Marshall, President
Central Baptist Theological Seminary

Kevin T. McBride, Senior Pastor
Raymond Baptist Church

Larry J. McKinney, President
Simpson University

Gregory A. Monaco, Associate Field Director,
Youth for Christ/USA

Royce L. Money, President
Abilene Christian University

Richard Mouw, President
Fuller Theological Seminary

Shirley A. Mullen, President
Houghton College

Mike O'Neal, President
Oklahoma Christian University

David Neff, Editor-in-Chief
Christianity Today

Glenn R. Palmberg, President
Evangelical Covenant Church

Earl F. Palmer, Minister
University Presbyterian Church

Linda Pampeyan, Consultant
Leadership Renewal Center

Ted W. Pampeyan, Director
Leadership Renewal Center

David L. Parkyn, President
North Park University

Roger Parrot, President
Belhaven College

Jerry Pence, General Superintendent
The Wesleyan Church

Rita Rihani, Professor of Arabic
North Park University

Bob Roberts, Pastor
Northwood Church

Bill Robinson, President
Whitworth University

Haddon W. Robinson, President
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Leonard Rodgers, Executive Director
Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding

Andrew Ryskamp, Director
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee

Michael G. Scales, President
Nyack College/ATS

Chris Seiple, President
Institute for Global Engagement

Robert Seiple, Former Ambassador-at-Large
for International Religious Freedom

Ronald J. Sider, President
Evangelicals for Social Action

James Skillen, President
Center for Public Justice

Wallace Smith, President
Palmer Theological Seminary

Glen H. Stassen, Lewis Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics
Fuller Theological Seminary

Gary W. Streit, President
Malone College

Joseph Tkach, President
Worldwide Church of God

Paul Vicalvi, Chaplains Commission Executive Director
National Association of Evangelicals

Harold Vogelaar, Professor Emeritus
Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago

Berten Waggoner, National Director
Vineyard USA

Don Wagner, Professor
North Park University

John Wagner, Pastor
Andover Congregational Church

Jon R. Wallace, President
Azusa Pacific University

Jim Wallis, Editor
Sojourners

Bob Wenz
Renewing Total Worship Ministries

Luder G. Whitlock, Executive Director
The Trinity Forum

John P. Williams, Jr., Regional Director
Evangelical Friends International - North America

Craig Williford, President
Denver Seminary

Earl L. Wilson, General Superintendent
The Wesleyan Church

Larry E. Yonker, Vice-President
The Elevation Group

Evangelical Leaders Reiterate Call for Two-State Solution for Israel and Palestine (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/novemberweb-only/148-33.0.html)

Russia to host next Middle East peace conference
Middle East Star
Wednesday 28th November, 2007
(IANS)

Moscow, Nov 28 (RIA Novosti) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has announced that the next Middle East peace conference would be hosted by Moscow.

Following Tuesday's talks in Annapolis, Maryland, attended by 44 nations, US President George W. Bush is set to meet the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the White House Wednesday.

At the end of the one-day talks, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a joint statement and committed themselves to negotiating a peace treaty by the end of next year.

The Russian minister told journalists on his way back home from Annapolis, 'I would like to note the efforts of the American organizers of this meeting toward finding the means to ensure that such a document was produced.'

He said the conference participants had welcomed Russia's offer to host the next Middle East peace meet in Moscow.

'All the participants welcomed our readiness to hold the next meeting in Moscow. Its date and agenda have yet to be coordinated, and will take into account progress at talks between the Palestinians and Israelis,' He said.

In their joint statement, Olmert and Abbas agreed to 'immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues without exception, as specified in previous agreements.'

Lavrov said the document requires the parties to start immediate negotiations, which will be based on all previously adopted documents, including UN Security Council resolutions and 'roadmap' deals to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and was excluded from the talks, dismissed the conference as a 'waste of time', and said it would ignore any agreements reached there.

Thousands of miles away from the conference, thousands of protesters gathered in the Gaza Strip. In Gaza City's central square, the crowd chanted slogans: 'Down with the devils who have gathered in America,' 'Palestine and Jerusalem are not for sale,' 'We will never recognize Israel,' and 'Our refugees must return home.'

At the Annapolis talks, Abbas reiterated Palestinian demands that Israel remove its settlements in the West Bank and release thousands of Palestinian prisoners.

Arab states have pledged to improve relations with Israel when an independent Palestinian state is formed, with its capital in East Jerusalem, and when Palestinian refugees are brought home.

The Arabs are also seeking an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian lands occupied in the 1967 Israel-Arab War, as well as from Syria's Golan Heights.

Iran, which was not invited to the Annapolis talks, added an edge to the proceedings by announcing Tuesday that it had developed a ballistic missile with a range of 2,000 km. The missile's range would allow it to reach Israel, as well as US military bases in the Middle East.

Russia to host next Middle East peace conference (http://story.middleeaststar.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/f81a4d9d561822ee/id/304342/cs/1/)

Israeli-Palestinian talks go nowhere

December 13, 2007

By Steven Gutkin - JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian rocket barrage, an Israeli army incursion in Gaza and a fresh land dispute in Jerusalem marred the first Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in seven years yesterday.

Instead of building on the momentum of last month's high-profile peace conference in the United States, the two sides traded barbs and accusations — and wrapped up a 90-minute session without any achievements.

An Israeli official described the atmosphere as "tense," and a Palestinian official reported "not an inch" of progress.

Israel had hoped to use the meeting to establish a framework for discussions to further both sides' stated goal of signing a peace deal by the end of next year. The fact that the session instead turned into a heated airing of mutual grievances showed just how far Israelis and Palestinians have to go before ending their six-decade-old conflict.

It was the first formal negotiating session since Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas restarted Middle East peace talks last month at a conference in Annapolis. The last round of talks broke down in January 2001, three months after Palestinian-Israeli violence erupted.

At the heart of yesterday's tension was an Israeli announcement last week that it would build 307 more homes in the Har Homa neighborhood of Jerusalem, in an area the Palestinians claim as their future capital. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said his delegation expressed "outrage."

"We are coming to negotiate over Jerusalem and borders, and the dictation and facts on the ground continue," he said. "If you want to restore the credibility of the peace process, the Israeli government must revoke this order."

Also tarnishing the talks was fresh violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, where the Islamist Hamas seized power six months ago. Yesterday, Palestinian militants fired more than 20 homemade rockets into Israel, causing damage to structures and slightly wounding one woman. Hours earlier, Israeli forces ended an incursion into the coastal strip that killed six militants and left a wide swath of damage.

Initially scheduled to kick off with a ceremony at Jerusalem's ornate King David hotel, yesterday's talks were held secretly at another hotel in the city. Negotiators sped away from the meeting without commenting to reporters, who discovered the location after the talks had begun.

Coffee and tea were served, but neither side described any warmth among the participants. The Palestinians complained about Har Homa and the Gaza incursion, and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni protested the Gaza rockets and the involvement of Palestinian policemen in the Dec. 3 killing of an Israeli settler in the West Bank.

The two sides agreed to continue talking in the coming weeks, and Israel reiterated its commitment to the negotiations.

Israeli-Palestinian talks go nowhere (http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/FOREIGN/112130064/1003&template=printart)

Planned Madrid peace gathering collapses before even taking off
December 15, 2007 Tevet 6, 5768
By Yoav Stern

MADRID - An investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars, loads of time and countless attempts at intensive Spanish-brokered talks between Israelis and Palestinians went down the drain this past weekend, when a peace gathering that was supposed to be held here collapsed before it could even get started. Spanish organizers grew tearful as they realized there was no possibility of bridging gaps between the various groups and of reaching even minimal discussion among the hawks - mostly members of the leftist camp in their countries.

The Forum for a Just Peace in the Middle East was supposed to convene over the weekend in a town near Madrid called Alcorcon, with the backing of leftist parties and labor organizations. It was meant to be Spain's contribution to promoting talks between the sides.

Spain, officials emphasize, is very interested in being involved in advancing the peace process. Its foreign minister, Miguel Moratinos, who is handling the matter personally, said this week: "We managed to send men to the moon, but not to resolve this conflict. We must move forward." But it looks like the failure of this forum will be laid at his door. The background to this failure involves a struggle between the government and leftist organizations over responsibility for holding the meeting.

Contrary to the usual Mideast scenario, this time the camps did not divide along national lines. There were Israeli Jews and Palestinians in both, but ones who hold completely different positions. The conflict between the camps revolves around the question of a worthy end to the conflict: a two-state solution or one state for two peoples.

In Israeli political terms, representatives of the Zionist center and left faced off against radical leftist activists, who were horrified at the prospect of having to talk to those they view as "representatives of the occupation." Yael Lerer, founder of Andalus Publishing and an activist in the Balad party, who was invited to address the forum, told Haaretz that she views the people from Peace Now and the Labor Party as another arm of the occupation, and therefore unacceptable for dialog.

"It is a huge problem when the heads of the organization do reserve duty in the territories and belong to [Labor Party leader Ehud] Barak's camp and then come to Europe and present themselves as belonging to the peace camp. This is not a camp that wants a just and genuine peace," she said.

Delegates from the Zionist left said yesterday that they do not rule out talking with anyone on the other side.

The Palestinian side also divided into two groups: those who boycotted the Israeli presence at the forum and were busy throughout with internal discussions; and those in the mainstream, who are willing to talk to delegates from Zionist parties to advance the establishment of a Palestinian state.

In lieu of the forum schedule, the latter went on tours of Madrid along with their Israeli colleagues.

Israeli Arabs played a key role in the Palestinian camp, spearheading opposition to the official Israeli and Spanish involvement. Amir Mahoul, general secretary of Ittijah, the umbrella organization of Arab civil groups in Israel, led the fight against turning the forum into an establishment affair. He called for an end to the influence of Israel and the Zionist lobby in Europe and the world.

Abd Anabtawi, spokesman for the Israeli Arabs' Higher Monitoring Committee, accused Israel's Foreign Ministry of sabotaging the event. According to Anabtawi, if the various United Nations resolutions do not constitute the basis for peace, there will be only one solution: establishing a secular democratic state in all of Palestine. He rejected the claim that making peace requires negotiating with centrists in Israeli and Palestinian societies.

Acknowledging that this forum lacked any force to impact the situation in the Middle East, Anabtawi blamed Israel for the lost chance to enlist more European support for the Palestinians. "Israel must not force its position on us and on civil society in Spain. The forum was liquidated, murdered in fact, by Israel," he said.

Planned Madrid peace gathering collapses before even taking off (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/934767.html)

Senator sees 'real opportunity' for resuming Syria-Israel talks
By The Associated Press
29/12/2007

There is a real opportunity for Syria and Israel to resume peace talks with help from the United States, an influential U.S. lawmaker said Saturday.

Senator Arlen Specter spoke in Damascus shortly after arriving for a two-day visit with Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee.

"I think there is a very important moment in the Middle East and there is a real opportunity if the parties are ready to move," Specter told The Associated Press. "It's up to the parties. It's up to Syria and Israel, but the United States, I think, is in the position to be helpful."

Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, was scheduled to meet Syrian President Bashar Assad and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Sunday to discuss the stalled Middle East peace process and strained U.S.-Syrian relations.

Specter, a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, declined to confirm reports that he would convey a message to Assad from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on resuming peace talks between the two countries. "I think that is something I should talk to President Assad about before I talk to the media," he said.

Specter, who met Olmert Wednesday, told reporters in Jerusalem that he would encourage Assad to launch peace talks with Israel.

He said he is convinced both countries want to restart a dialogue.

"Prime Minister Olmert told us that he's interested, that he's looking for a signal from Syria," he said.

In 2000, formal U.S.-sponsored Israel-Syria talks neared agreement but broke down over final border and peace arrangements.

Specter said Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad had told him on the sidelines of last month's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, that Syria is interested in the negotiations.

Syria attended the U.S.-brokered Mideast conference after receiving assurances that the issue of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria after the 1967 Six Day War would be on the agenda.

Relations between Syria and the U.S. appeared to warm briefly following Syria's attendance at the Annapolis conference, which was widely seen as an attempt to gain favor with Washington.

But both sides have since lashed out at one another, each accusing the other of meddling in Lebanon, where the Western-backed government is locked in a political standoff with the pro-Syrian opposition.

The U.S. disapproves of Syrian meddling in Lebanon, Damascus' support for anti-Israel militant groups and its alliance with Iran.

Last week, U.S. President George W. Bush rejected dialogue with the Syrian leader, saying his patience ran out on President Assad a long time ago.

Kennedy, a Rhode Island Democrat, said he looked forward to speaking with Assad about promoting peace and stability with Syria's neighbor, saying he wants to see "free and fair elections in Lebanon ... full sovereignty for Lebanon."

The election of a new Lebanese president has been held up by continued political wrangling between the Syrian-backed opposition and the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority bloc. The presidency was left vacant after pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term ended on November 23, with no successor being elected.

Senator sees 'real opportunity' for resuming Syria-Israel talks (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/939489.html)

Israelis, Palestinians try for peace

By STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 28, 4:19 PM ET

JERUSALEM - In the afterglow of a high-profile peace conference, Israeli and Palestinian leaders will try in the coming year to resolve issues that have defied solutions for decades.

For peace to work, Israel will have to give up most of the West Bank, Palestinians must agree to resettle refugees inside their own state and the two sides must share the holy city of Jerusalem. None of that will come easily — and prospects for peace are hurt by the growing power of extremists and the weakness of leaders on both sides.

Weighing heavily on the Middle East is fear about the influence of Iran and the ascendancy of Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. After Hamas violently routed the more moderate Fatah movement in Gaza in June, the big question now is whether the West Bank will go the same way.

Israel fretted through a year of angst about Iran's nuclear program only to be told in a new U.S. intelligence report that Iran stopped it four years ago. Israel isn't buying the claim, and is scrambling to convince its allies that Iran remains a major threat to the West.

Hamas' takeover of Gaza paradoxically opened the door to peace talks between Israel and the moderate Palestinian leadership now in charge of the West Bank. Israeli and Palestinian leaders both say they hope to sign a peace deal by the end of 2008.

On Nov. 27, the two sides got together in Annapolis, Md., in the presence of some 45 nations to relaunch peace talks that had been stalled during the past seven years of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

All the main players have good reason to go for a deal: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wants to undo the damage done by his inconclusive 2006 war in Lebanon, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas needs a boost in his showdown with Hamas, President Bush would like to offset his difficulties in Iraq, and moderate Arab states need to counter Iranian-supported extremism.

Working against this new hope is weakness at the top: a Palestinian president who only controls half his territory and struggles to impose order in the part he does control, and an Israeli leader who has done little to confront domestic hawks intent on expanding West Bank settlements and torpedoing any progress toward peace.

While the contours of a peace deal have largely been worked out in past talks — a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, shared control of Jerusalem and a recognition the need to settle the Palestinian refugees — every issue calls for excruciating compromises.

Negotiators will have to figure out how to share Jerusalem, a task that must address key Israeli security concerns and religious sensitivities on both sides; and find a just solution for the Palestinian refugees displaced in Israel's 1948 war of independence without destroying the Jewish character of Israel.

Both Israelis and Palestinians have a growing sense that time is running out.

There will soon be more Muslims than Jews in the lands comprising historic Palestine, and Israel will have to make a deal if it hopes to remain both Jewish and democratic. And without peace, moderate Palestinians will likely lose their life-or-death struggle against the extremists.

"If things don't work out it means that the voices that are not in favor of ... a peaceful resolution of the conflict will feel vindicated and they will be strengthened and empowered," said independent West Bank lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi.

Israeli Cabinet Minister Ami Ayalon went further, saying that if peace talks fail "we shall see Hamas controlling the West Bank and the right wing will control Israel."

Israel might sign some sort of a peace treaty in the coming year. It's highly unlikely the deal would be implemented unless Israel is assured that the lands it evacuates won't be used as launching grounds for attacks.

In hopes of bolstering Abbas' forces in the West Bank, the international community is expected to pledge almost $2 billion a year in aid for the next three years to help rebuild the Palestinian economy and security forces.

There are no clear plans for Hamas-ruled Gaza, which is internationally boycotted and can expect to remain almost completely isolated and slide deeper into poverty as long as the Islamic militants remain in power.

If the U.S. change of assessment on Iran was one year-end surprise, Syria is another.

The country has long been under U.S. pressure over its role in Lebanon and Iraq, and in September Israeli warplanes struck a site in Syria that some believe was a nascent secret nuclear site, an accusation denied by Damascus.

Syria improved ties with the U.S. by attending the Annapolis conference, a thaw that U.S. officials hope will dilute Iran's influence in the region. Damascus, in turn, is hoping the next year will see a resumption of stalled negotiations with Israel over the disputed Golan Heights.

Israelis, Palestinians try for peace (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071228/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ye_mideast;_ylt=AhzqjWdT1GNLLoSTfCHccm4LewgF)

Blair wants Mideast peace in 2008

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer Sun Jan 27, 8:08 PM ET

DAVOS, Switzerland - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the final session of the World Economic Forum on Sunday that he wants an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and a pact on climate change by the end of 2008.

Sharing the same level of ambition, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel called for China to open its doors to the Dalai Lama and for an end to the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

The final session of this year's forum seemed to shrug off any pessimism about what can be achieved in the coming months despite fears that the U.S. economic downturn could lead to a global recession.

"The mood was moderately optimistic because we have many, many opportunities," said Klaus Schwab, the forum's founder. "But if we do not address the challenges, one day even the greatest opportunities will not be enough to guarantee our continuation as humankind if you look at climate change, terrorism, poverty."

The five-day political and economic brainstorming session that brought nearly 2,500 of the world's movers and shakers to this Swiss ski resort was short on "glitz" this year — with the exception of rock star Bono and Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, who are both also anti-poverty campaigners.

Politically, there was much talk about whether President Bush's goal of a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians by the end of the year will be reached.

"I would like to see an agreement that gives us the prospect of a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine because I do think that would be the greatest signal of reconciliation with which the 21st century could start," said Blair, who is now the chief envoy for the key international Mideast mediators known as the Quartet.

Wiesel said he also wanted to see Mideast peace this year, and "to alleviate the suffering in Darfur which has become the capital of human suffering in the world today."

"I'd like China to open its doors to the Dalai Lama so I could accompany him to go to Tibet. That would be a great, great victory," Wiesel said, as the audience burst into applause.

Blair said he'd also "like to see us get the climate change deal or framework of it."

PepsiCo Inc. chief Indra Nooyi said she'd also like to see "a climate policy" and efforts to bring down rising food prices.

"We've taken years to get people out of poverty, give them a couple of meals a day when they were only eating one meal a day or less," she said. "We run the risk of slipping back to poverty if food prices are escalating much too fast."

Many participants touched on another major theme at Davos this year: how to stem terrorism.

Afghanistan's president warned that the world could suffer terribly from the "wildfire" of terrorism engulfing his region. Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf pledged to "carry on the fight against terrorism and extremism."

Wiesel said the greatest threat to humanity today "is the globalization of fear because of terrorism" — especially suicide bombings and fanaticism.

"Somehow the future today is much more dangerous than it used to be because of people we don't know who have a cult of death ... and practice the cult of death," he said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended Bush's push for democracy in the Middle East and elsewhere, and tried to calm economic fears, stressing that the U.S. economy is resilient and would remain an "engine of growth."

Whether the U.S. economy is heading toward recession — or just slowing down — and the likely impact on the rest of the world was the subject of intense discussion. There was much speculation about whether Asia's two giants, China and India, would be able to absorb some of the shock.

"I am optimistic about the future," Wang Jianzhou, chairman and CEO of China Mobile Communications Corp., told Sunday's closing session. "If there is the recession in the world, generally speaking it will have an impact on China, but I don't think it will be very big."

There would be a reduction in Chinese exports, "but we still have very, very strong domestic consumption," Wang said.

Blair wants Mideast peace in 2008 (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080128/ap_on_re_eu/world_economic_forum;_ylt=Anjs0zI7ZfYtaSHOx.TYoed0bBAF)

Abdullah warns that Annapolis conference offers last chance for peace
By The Associated Press

Jordan's King Abdullah II warned Sunday that an international conference held in the United States last November could be the last chance for peacemaking between Palestinians and Israelis.

Abdullah, a key U.S. ally who maintains cordial ties with Israel under a 1994 peace treaty, is an ardent supporter of a Palestinian-Israeli peace settlement. He said he was concerned of the growing influence of extremists in the region who may threaten moderates like himself.

"The process that started in Annapolis is, from our perspective, a positive development, but it also may be our last chance for peace for many, many years to come," Abdullah cautioned, referring to the international Middle East conference held in Maryland, which re-launched Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.
Advertisement
He did not elaborate in an interview with Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency, which coincided with his departure to Russia. A text of the interview was distributed by the Jordanian Royal Palace.

Previously, Abdullah said his concern stemmed from a diminishing moderate camp and the rising influence of extremists, who find fertile grounds among the region's poor and frustrated.

The king said protracted conflict has delayed the socio-economic development of most of the countries in the region, despite successful political and economic reforms in some.

"For us to fully realize the benefits of reform, we need to be able to exchange goods and services with our neighbors and facilitate the movement of people," he said. "So in that respect, conflict holds everyone up, and the longer we delay conflict resolution, the more we risk greater instability down the road."

Abdullah also said during his two-day visit to Moscow he would discuss with President Vladimir Putin the possibility of Russian assistance in helping Jordan develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Abdullah warns that Annapolis conference offers last chance for peace (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/952826.html)

Let a 'peace contract' precede an actual treaty
Avshalom Vilan
THE JERUSALEM POST
Mar. 25, 2008

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced two weeks ago in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Israel would continue to negotiate with PA President Mahmoud Abbas for peace in the West Bank on the one hand; while on the other hand, it would fight Hamas in Gaza as if there were no peace negotiations.

Those who object to a peace treaty with the Palestinians raise the familiar arguments regarding Abbas's weakness and Hamas's refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist. They say - with a fair amount of justice - that signing a treaty with Abbas over the West Bank could result in Katyushas falling not just on Ashkelon and Sderot from Gaza, but also on Nahariya and Ben-Gurion Airport from the West Bank.

Supporters of a peace treaty claim, on the other hand and with a greater amount of justice, that absent political progress, there can anyway be no solution to the Kassams and Grads; that the IDF with all its might won't be able to crown Abbas in Gaza again.

IN ORDER to overcome this dilemma, we need to explore an out-of-the-box solution that would give Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank a genuine incentive to join a future peace treaty - one that offers hope and dignity.

One such creative solution is for Israel and the PLO to formulate and jointly present a formal "peace contract" - with one categorical condition: The contract would transform itself into an actual peace treaty, with all that implies, when the West Bank and the Gaza Strip - on which the future Palestinian state is to arise - is under the rule of a single political authority, elected on the basis of the peace contract.

When the time is right, general elections would be held (also in Israel), and if the parties supporting the peace contract obtain a majority, the governments formed would be constituted as peace governments to implement the contract.

This process would ensure a smooth transition from peace contract to peace treaty. Each side would be fully aware of the facts and be able to take steps accordingly to create conditions in which the peace treaty could be signed - or they could choose to fight each other until the end of days.

A CONTRACT based, for example, upon the Clinton parameters or the Geneva Initiative would prove to the Palestinian people that a peace treaty and a state of their own is within reach, something that would plainly help weaken Hamas.

Such a peace contract would likely be backed by the Arab League, which would see it as Israel's positive response to the peace offer put forward by Saudi Arabia and which has had vast support from the entire Arab and most of the Muslim world.

The proposed peace contract would include a preamble with confidence-building measures, including prisoner exchanges (of individuals with or without blood on their hands), the release of Marwan Barghouti, and an arrangement for Gilad Schalit's return. Such measures would be acknowledged, in the context of a peace contract, as the starting point for breaking the cycle of violence, and not as another submission to Palestinian terrorism.

The basis of the peace contract would be the right of self-determination of both nations in Israel and Palestine. It would not be based on "human rights" or the "holy land," but on necessary historical compromises.

Finally, such a peace contract could initiate the beginning of the implementation of the "evacuation-compensation" bill, making it possible for settlers who wish to do so to buy houses inside Israel and start their reabsorption in an equitable manner and within a reasonable time, without waiting for a compelled evacuation of all settlements by the state.

The biggest advantage of this peace contract proposal is that it presents a responsibility test. By distinguishing between a peace contract and a peace treaty, both nations would have to give their approval in a democratic way and take the responsibility for the future in their own hands. This way, a new, positive consent can be reached, a consent that would allow us to pursue our lives in peace. We would at last be offered a way out of the tragic prospect of forever living by the sword.

Let a 'peace contract' precede an actual treaty (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1206446102475&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Better than a peace conference

To call the Russian approach to fostering peace in the region indelicate would probably be an understatement. "Thuggish" is the word that comes to mind.

As this newspaper reported yesterday, Israeli sources said that Russia's attitude toward the peace conference it wishes to sponsor is that it will be held "whether Israel likes it or not." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's one-day visit here last week was described as "nasty."

Perhaps all this is not surprising from a country that is supplying the Iranian regime with nuclear fuel and sophisticated missile defense systems while running interference for the mullahs in the UN Security Council.

Lavrov even had the temerity to lecture Israelis about refraining from military action, even as Russia systematically blocks the draconian sanctions on Teheran that are the only hope of avoiding the military option.

One might even ask why Moscow would want to hold a peace conference in the first place. Some Israeli officials seem to be taking at face value Russian claims that it is concerned over growing Iranian influence in the region. If so, Russia is attempting to combat this influence in a strange way.

It is as if the only arrow in the Russian quiver is the sale of arms and nuclear materials and technology, not just to Iran's rivals, but to Iran itself. It should be obvious, however, that the only way to fundamentally reverse the trend that supposedly concerns Moscow is to address its source: the growing prospect that a terrorist state with an expansionist, totalitarian ideology will become a nuclear power.

If Russia truly wants to prevent this, it is in an excellent position to do so. Russia and China are Iran's key allies in the UN Security Council. If Russia joins with the US, the UK and France in favoring truly punishing sanctions on Teheran - such as a ban on refined oil exports to Iran that supply 40 percent of its fuel needs - then it would not be easy for China to remain exposed as Iran's sole protector.

Even if the Security Council route were blocked, Russian support for real sanctions, not the minimal and insufficient steps taken so far, could help change the dynamic in Europe, which could impose its own tough sanctions without any further UN action.

Instead, Moscow seems to be reprising the old Soviet policy of being weapons supplier to rogue states and sticking its finger in the eye of the West. How this is in the interest of today's Russia is difficult to imagine.

What is clear, however, is that Israel should have no part of it.

Russia is attempting to host a peace conference while protecting the main source of war: Iran. Russia is not only protecting Iran physically, through the missile defense systems that surround its nuclear facilities, but diplomatically, by blocking serious international sanctions.

So long as this remains the case, Israel must not attend a "peace" conference in Moscow that serves to legitimize the Russian role. If an unreformed Russia wants to hold a "peace" conference without Israel, let it.

This does not mean that Israel should oppose a constructive Russian role. On the contrary; Israel should make clear that it welcomes Russian involvement in isolating Iran, Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas.

Russia cannot have it both ways. It cannot fashion itself as an international troublemaker, and a friend to even worse troublemakers, and then act surprised when the trouble it helps create spins out of control and backfires against Russian interests. For years, France pursued a version of such a policy, during which Paris seemed to value its "independence" from Washington more than playing a constructive role on the world stage.

Thankfully, France seems to have outgrown such a stance, which ultimately contributed nothing to its own interests. True world powers do not define themselves as adolescents do, solely in reference to rebellion for rebellion's sake.

Russia has even more reason than France did to pick itself out of its contrarian, quasi-Soviet rut, assuming that Russians have more to gain from further integrating themselves into the West.

Does Russia really have an interest in Iran prevailing against the US? If not, Russia should truly join, not impede, the international campaign to force Iran to back down. If Russia were to take such an about-face and join the side of peace, it would do more for peace than a thousand conferences.

________________________________________

German alarm at Nicolas Sarkozy's plans peace for Mediterranean union
April 13, 2008

Matthew Campbell

ISRAELI and Arab soldiers are being summoned to march through Paris this summer to celebrate the launch of a “Union for the Mediterranean” to settle regional woes.

France is inviting all the countries around the Mediterranean rim, including Libya, Syria and Israel, to a European Union summit in Paris on July 13 and they are expected to take part in a “Euro-Mediterranean Bastille Day” military parade with European troops the next day, according to Henri Guaino, one of the closest advisers to the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

The idea of a Mediterranean union has irritated the Germans, who have insisted that it be created in association with the EU. Guaino, the originator of the plan, believes that even a watered-down version would have an effect on terrorism and illegal immigration and would turn around a region ravaged by economic hardship and war.

“We are trying to promote projects that make people work together as much as possible and that will help to create conditions for peace,” Guaino said. “It is an audacious bet but it is better to take the risk of failure than to take the risk of doing nothing.”

Guaino said the Bastille Day parade this year would be the biggest yet. It will be followed by a lavish fireworks display and a concert celebrating the start of France’s six-month presidency of the EU.

Sarkozy has grand ambitions at the helm of Europe. Guaino suggested that he would like to see Tony Blair appointed the first EU president by the end of the year. Efforts to forge common immigration and defence policies are no less controversial.

The Mediterranean idea has also proved to be a battleground. Britain, a backer of EU membership for Turkey, has been wary, suspecting a plot by Sarkozy to keep the Turks out of Europe by offering the “club Med” instead.

Besides annoying the Turks, it has soured relations between Sarkozy and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor. Worried that wealthier countries such as Germany would end up paying for the new French-led association, Merkel reportedly threatened to boycott the Paris summit unless Sarkozy scaled back plans for a “political, economic and cultural union” for the Mediterranean.

Under a compromise, all 27 EU members, whether or not they have a bit of Mediterranean coast, will be “equally” involved in the club.

German alarm at Nicolas Sarkozy's plans peace for Mediterranean union (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3736045.ece)

ChristiansUnite Forums

Theology => Prophecy - Current Events => Topic started by: Shammu on September 25, 2007, 12:13:36 AM