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The full text of Olmert, Abbas' speeches at the Annapolis summit
Israel, PA agree to reach peace agreement by end of 2008
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.
TEXT-Israelis, Palestinians reach 'joint understanding'
Following is the joint understanding reached by Israel and the Palestinians as read by U.S. President George W. Bush at a Middle East peace conference on Tuesday and released by the White House...
Joint statement completed minutes before presentation
The joint Israeli-Palestinian declaration issued at Annapolis Tuesday was completed less than half an hour beforehand, Israeli and Palestinian sources told Haaretz.
INSTANT VIEW-Reaction to Annapolis statement
U.S. President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed a joint statement at the Annapolis peace conference that they hope may lead to a full peace agreement before the end of 2008. Following are reactions to Bush's announcement.
Abbas, Bush and Olmert to meet on Wednesday
The American president George Bush announced that the White House will host the first round of talks between the Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Israeli premier Ehud Olmert on Wednesday.
Palestinians see Israel as winner in Annapolis
No mention of timetable, boundaries of Palestinian state, refugees or Jerusalem leave few Palestinians who bothered to tune into live broadcast from Annapolis bitterly disappointed with outcome. In undeclared battle between the delegations over who would outmaneuver the other, Israel clearly finished on top.
ISRAEL-OPT: A mixed bag on the Annapolis agenda
The following are some of the core issues to be negotiated by the Israelis and Palestinians at this week's international conference at Annapolis, Maryland, USA, according to analysts and politicians on both sides.
Annapolis statement "waste of time", Hamas says
A senior Hamas official described as a "waste of time" a joint Palestinian-Israeli statement agreed on Tuesday at the Annapolis Middle East conference and read out by U.S. President George W. Bush.
PA Police assault peaceful demonstrators against Annapolis conference
At least one Palestinian man was killed and dozens others injured when poorly-trained and utterly undisciplined Palestinian Authority (PA) policemen ganged up on peaceful demonstrators protesting the American-hosted Annapolis conference.
Palestinians divided over Annapolis conference
As leaders from more than 40 nations, territories and international organizations gather on Tuesday in Annapolis, the United States, to discuss peace in the Mideast, the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were divided over the meeting.
Hamas: statehood Bush promised "vague, illusory"
Islamic Hamas movement on Tuesday described the Palestinian statehood which U.S. President George W. Bush has called for creating as "vague and illusory." Speaking at the opening of Annapolis peace conference, Bush said it was time for a new Palestinian statehood.
ANALYSIS-Doubts linger about U.S. commitment after Annapolis
U.S . President George W. Bush has set himself the herculean task of shepherding an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of next year, but doubts remain about his commitment. As Bush proudly beamed behind them, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shook hands on Tuesday over an agreement to immediately begin their first formal peace negotiations in seven years.
Protests in West Bank, Gaza and Iran Against Annapolis Conference
There were more protests Tuesday in the Palestinian territories and in Tehran against the Mideast peace conference now under way in Annapolis, Maryland. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem protests in the West Bank were broken up by Palestinian police.
Palestinian killed as police break up West Bank rallies
Palestinian police killed one man in the West Bank on Tuesday as it broke up rallies against a US peace meeting, while Hamas supporters in Gaza rallied in force against the conference.
Palestinian Voice: We Can't Live With Annapolis Land Grab
This week in Annapolis, Maryland the United States government will host a conference between Palestinian and Israeli leaders to launch peace talks on a permanent agreement. A vital component of the peace proposals to be discussed involves exchanges of territory that would allow Israel to keep its West Bank "settlement blocs" while compensating Palestinians with land inside Israel.
'Annapolis is a bubble . . . it will burst and we will stay'
Samuel Farid gazes at the yellow cranes and tractors churning up the West Bank to add more than 700 new homes to the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. Mr Farid, a builder, believes that more housing units will follow. "I won't be out of a job anytime soon – more families will come, more building will happen."
Al-Haq: A Foundation not an Afterthought
Upholding International Law at Annapolis: AL-HAQ: JOINT OPEN LETTER 26 November 2007 Joint Letter to Negotiating Parties by Palestinian Civil Society Organisations* As Palestinian human rights and civil society organisations, we the undersigned, are deeply concerned by the lack of a clearly articulated legal framework for the upcoming diplomatic negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) .
MK Orlev: Israel facing liquidation sale
Rightists slam joint declaration in Annapolis. National Union-NRP chairman calls on Shas, Lieberman to quit government. Beilin: Coalition will hinder peace efforts.
Saudis back new peace process, stand firm on Israel
Saudi Arabia backed Tuesday's launch here of a new Israeli-Palestinian peace process but stood firm on its demands for peace despite an Israeli call for Arabs to normalize ties. "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," Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said in a statement to the peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland.
Bush pushes Arabs to reach out to Israel
U.S. President George W. Bush urged skeptical Arab states on Tuesday to reach out to Israel whose prime minister urged Arab nations not to "watch the peace train go by."
ANALYSIS / Fear of Iran brought Arab leaders to Annapolis meet
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Annapolis summit is the pinnacle of the process that started in the Middle East with the Second Lebanon War, and possibly even before that, with the revolution in the Gaza Strip.
Piecemeal approaches will not resolve Middle East conflict – Ban Ki-moon
It is time to "abandon piecemeal approaches" to resolving the Middle East conflict and start final status negotiations that deal with all the issues in dispute, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told an international meeting on the region being held today in the United States city of Annapolis.
Saudis call for Israeli talks with Syria, Lebanon
Saudi Arabia called on Tuesday for a quick start to Israeli peace talks with Syria and Lebanon following an announcement that Israeli-Palestinian negotiations would resume immediately.
ISRAEL-OPT: The humanitarian impact of Annapolis
Whatever happens in the Annapolis Middle East peace conference will affect another crucial conference – of the key donors to the Palestinians - which is scheduled to take place in mid December in Paris.
Jordanians stage anti-Annapolis protest
Scores of jeering Jordanians took part in a rally on Tuesday against the U.S.-hosted Middle East conference in Annapolis, denouncing it as a sellout of the Palestinian cause.
Analysis / Four quick points on Israel-Palestinian joint statement
Timing: Promising to conclude the peace negotiations within a year is the headline of this document. It is a challenge that should not be taken lightly. Both sides remember that deadlines are not sacred in the Middle East, and were rarely met in similar occasions. Nevertheless, they will try to meet this goal, paying Bush for his vision (the Palestinians) and support (Israelis).
OPT: In Annapolis, conflict by other means
At an intersection in front of Nablus city hall, a pair of women threaded a knot of waiting pedestrians, glanced left, then dashed across the street. "What's this?" an onlooker chastised them. "Can't you see the red light?" Not long after, his patience exhausted, the self-appointed traffic cop himself stepped off the curb and made his way to the other side of the boulevard. Such is life in the West Bank on the eve of the meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, where the Bush administration intends to create the semblance of a "peace process" between Israel and the Palestinians for the first time since it assumed office. There is excitement in Palestinian towns about the urban order newly emerging from years of chaos; there is a willingness to play by the rules even as many remain convinced that doing so will not get them very far; and, lastly, there is the reality that when the waiting grows tiresome, people will again take matters into their own hands. As for the Annapolis meeting itself, it is being greeted with indifference, with few believing it will lead to either meaningful change in their daily lives or substantive progress toward the end of an Israeli occupation now in its fifth decade.
Annapolis and the Unholy Alliance, Midnight in Beirut
At midnight last Friday night, Lebanon entered the uncharted waters of a constitutional crisis as the outgoing President Emile Lahoud's term ended without the appointment of a successor. Earlier in the day, the scheduled meeting of parliament to elect a new president was postponed for the fifth time, this time to November 30, amidst an opposition boycott that prevented the two-third quorum required by the Constitution.
Jordanian minister of state for media affairs and communications and acting foreign minister Nasser Judeh Tuesday summoned the Iranian ambassador to Jordan and expressed condemnation of the demonstration outside the Jordanian Embassy in Tehran against the Arab participation in U.S.-hosted Middle East peace conference in Annapolis.
Anti-Annapolis Summit protests held in several U.S. cities
In the U.S., pro-Palestine activists gathered in a number of cities, including Annapolis, to demand that the world leaders gathered behind closed doors address the basic rights of the Palestinian people.
Iran: 'True owners of Palestine' absent at Annapolis conference
The Annapolis conference was a "bargaining session" at which the real stakeholders were not even present, an Iranian government spokesman said Tuesday. "The conference is taking place in the absence of the true owners of Palestine," said Gholam-Hossein Elham, according to the Iranian news agency IRNA.
When the Israeli leader finished his speech, Prince Saud politely clapped
Later, during remarks to the foreign ministers, Prince Saud said that "the time has come for Israel to put its trust in peace after it has gambled on war for decades without success." He called on Israel to withdraw from the West Bank.
Annapolis Statement: "Palestinian Bantustan"
Peace conference new to Annapolitans
Just when the challenges of holiday traffic are over, Maryland highway authorities are warning motorists to avoid two major highways near Annapolis on Tuesday. Participants in the summit on Israeli-Palestinian relations were meeting Monday night in Washington. And on Tuesday morning, they will gather 30 miles east at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.
Does Abbas Have Any English Speaking Advisors?
Those among you with good memory may recall the Camp David peace talks of 2000. If you do not remember, you may be uniformed. If you remember, then you know of the talks when Arafat was offered everything the Palestinians could ever aspire to, but he turned it down and turned to instigating the 2nd Intifada because he prefers continuous bloodshed and loves killing Jews. So if you remember from the mass media, you are misinformed, to paraphrase my good friend Mark Twain.
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