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Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Begin on Joint Declaration for November Peace Conference
by Aluf Benn and Avi Isaacharoff
 Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and PA Chairman Abbas met last week to start the official negotiating process to formulate a joint declaration for the planned November peace conference. There are significant gaps between the two sides' starting positions, and a particularly bitter dispute revolves around the essence and substance of the joint declaration they are expected to draft. Olmert rejects titles such as "declaration of principles" or "agreement of principles." Instead, he is proposing a general "declaration of interests" that would serve as a starting point for future negotiations. He also insists that the declaration include a reference to two previous documents: President George W. Bush's letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on April 14, 2004, and the Roadmap for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Ha'aretz)
See also Washington Officials: Mideast Parley Might Be Postponed (Jerusalem Post)
See also Hamas Urges Peace Summit Boycott (BBC)
Israeli Defense Officials: Important to Lower Expectations for International Conference
by Yaakov Katz and Mark Weiss
 Defense Minister Ehud Barak has appointed the head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Military Bureau, Amos Gilad, as his representative at the talks with the Palestinians. Officials close to Barak and Gilad said it was unlikely anything concrete would come from the talks and that it was important to begin lowering expectations ahead of the international conference so it would not trigger a third intifada if it failed. "We need to be realistic and realize that Abbas will have extreme difficulty in delivering on any of his commitments," said a defense official involved in the talks. "There is also a real chance that the Palestinians will pull out of the summit even before it takes place due to Israel's refusal to commit itself on final-status issues." (Jerusalem Post)
Israel Frees 87 Jailed Palestinians to Aid Abbas
by Yehuda Peretz
 Israel began releasing 87 jailed Palestinians last week, members of Abbas' Fatah or smaller secular factions, in a move aimed at strengthening Mahmoud Abbas. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said last week that only prisoners "without blood on their hands" - a reference to deadly attacks against the Jewish state - and willing to sign a document renouncing violence would be freed. The last such gesture by Israel was on July 20, when some 250 prisoners, most of them from Fatah, went free. Twenty-nine of the 87 prisoners on the release roster come from Gaza and the others from the West Bank. (Reuters/Washington Post)
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Israel Officially Denies Responsibility for Death of al-Dura in 2000
by Ronny Sofer
 Seven years after the death of the Palestinian boy Muhammad al-Dura in Gaza, the Prime Minister's Office speaks out against the "myth of the murder." An official document from Jerusalem denied - for the first time - that Israel was responsible for the death of al-Dura at the start of the second intifada. The document argued that the images, which showed al-Dura being shot beside his father and have become a symbol of the second intifada, were staged. "The creation of the myth of Muhammad al-Dura has caused great damage to the State of Israel. This is an explicit blood libel against the state. And just as blood libels in the old days have led to pogroms, this one has also caused damage and dozens of dead," said Government Press Office director Daniel Seaman. The arguments were based on investigations that showed that the angles of the IDF troops' fire could not have hit the child or his father, that part of the filmed material, mainly the moment of the boy's alleged death, is missing, and the fact that the cameraman can be heard saying the boy is dead while the boy is still seen moving. (Ynet News)
See also PA Official Admits 'Nativity Siege' Staged (WorldNetDaily/Ynet News)
North Korean Mystery
by Jim Hoagland
 Highly classified U.S. intelligence reports say that the Israelis raid in Syria last month destroyed a nuclear-related facility and caused North Korean casualties at the site, which may have been intended to produce plutonium, according to a senior official with access to those reports. The Israelis have provided the United States with photographs, physical material and soil samples from the site - taken both before and after the raid - according to two independent sources. (Washington Post)
Iranians Chant 'Death to Israel' and Call for Violence
 Tens of thousands of Iranians marched through Tehran last week proclaiming solidarity with Palestinians and chanting "Death to Israel" in the Islamic republic's annual protest against the Jewish state. Iranians of all ages began the march through the center of the capital to Tehran University to mark Quds Day, calling for Jerusalem and Israel to be handed to the Palestinians. Colored bibs were handed out to protestors with the legend "Death to Israel, Death to United States" while "Palestine will only be free with fighting and faith" was the slogan on one banner. (AFP)
See also Exposing Ahmadinejad's Lies - Calling for 'Death to Israel, America' (YouTube)
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