[NYTr] Annapolis Window-Dressing: Abbas, Olmert Agree to Talk to Agree to Talk to Maybe Agree

Tue Nov 27 14:59:02 EST 2007

[All boolsheet of course. The Israelis have been given a "chilly"
reception by the other participants, but are counting the others'
presence alone as some kind of victory. Dizzgusting. -NYTr]

AP via Yahoo - Nov 27, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071127/ap_on_go_pr_wh/mideast_summit

Israel, Palestinians OK negotiating plan

By MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press Writer

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.

But 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.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal 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.

[Associated Press reporters Amy Teibel, Mohammed Daraghmeh, Anne Gearan
and Ben Feller contributed to this story.]

                            ***

AP via Yahoo - Nov 27, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/syria_iran

Syria defends decision to attend summit

By ALBERT AJI
Associated Press Writer

Syria on Tuesday defended its decision to attend the Mideast peace
conference and said it was choosing the path to peace after its close
ally Iran expressed surprise at the decision.

In Iran, several officials and media condemned the U.S.-hosted
conference and urged Arab countries not to compromise with the Israelis.

Syrian state-run media said the country hoped the conference could
bring real peace to the region.

Syria is attending the Annapolis, Md., conference "because peace is its
choice and because it has made strides in previous negotiations to
achieve it," the daily Tishrin said in an editorial.

"Though we are hopeful that the region would move toward a real peace,
yet this doesn't mean that the conference would achieve this goal," the
editorial said.

It added that "Syria, which has a full desire to make peace, is ready
to go to the ends of the earth to achieve this objective."

Syrian Foreign Minister Waleed al-Moallem cited earlier negotiations
with Israel, saying the conference could bring peace.

"If there is an opportunity, we take advantage of it to succeed. If
there are no results then it's because Israel does not have the will to
make peace," he said in comments carried by Syria's official news
agency Monday.

Iran's criticism and Syria's statement seemed to indicate at least some
tension between the two allies over the issue, although it was unclear
how serious it was.

Hossein Shariatmadari, an adviser to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, told a pan-Arab daily based in London, Asharq Al-Awsat,
that Iran was surprised by Syria's decision to take part in the
conference, which is trying to broker a peace deal between Israel and
the Palestinians.

"We were surprised by the Syrian position, and we said that we do not
support the conference. We expressed our opinion clearly and openly,"
Shariatmadari told the paper, adding that the conference was a "a plot
against the Palestinians."

Syria previously has said it decided to send its deputy foreign
minister, Faysal Mekdad, to the summit only after the issue of the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights was added to the agenda.

Iran has been sharply critical of the conference, saying it was doomed
to fail. But Shariatmadari's comments were the first from Iran that
explicitly mention Syria's decision to participate.

U.S. officials are hoping Annapolis could mark a start to moving Syria
out of its alliance with Iran and the Hamas and Hezbollah militant
groups. But Syria has been cautious though so far, sending Mekdad
instead of the country's top diplomat as other Arab countries have done.

On Monday, dozens of hard-line Iranian students gathered in front of
the Jordanian Embassy in Tehran to protest the summit after Khamenei
said in a speech broadcast on state TV that the summit was a failure
meant to salvage America's reputation and not designed to help the
Palestinians.

"Those who recognize Israel commit treason against Muslims and
Palestinians," the protesters said in a statement in an apparent
reference to Arab leaders who attended the conference.

On Tuesday, Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham called on
Arab and Muslim countries not to compromise with Israel at the
Annapolis summit.

"Compromise in Annapolis will have no result except discrediting. It
will damage the reputation of the U.S and its supporters," Elham was
quoted as saying by the official news agency, IRNA. He said Iran might
host a conference of Palestinian groups soon.

The official Iran daily newspaper also condemned the conference.

"Will Arab leaders be ready to compromise over rights of Palestinian
nation against Palestinians?" Iran said in an editorial. "The Annapolis
conference is nothing more than a ridiculous intervention maneuver in
and inter-Palestinian dispute."

Elham also urged Muslim countries not to show their support for the
Jewish state.

"Regarding our brotherhood relations with Islamic countries, such as
Saudi Arabia, we are not interested in these countries standing next to
the U.S. and Israel," IRNA quoted Elham as saying.

Nearly 50 nations and organizations are attending the summit. Iran is
not among the invitees.

                         ***

CNN - Nov 27, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/11/27/mideast.summit/index.html

Israelis, Palestinians agree on framework for peace talks

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.

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.

"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.

[CNN's Zain Verjee and Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.]