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Joint Israel-PLO Understanding Read by President Bush at Annapolis Conference
  "The representatives of the government of the State of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization...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. 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] shall make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008....Implementation of the future peace treaty will be subject to the implementation of the road map, as judged by the United States." (White House)
Follow-up Meeting in Moscow Will Discuss Syrian, Lebanese Issues; U.S. Proposes Monitoring Committee
 Washington has proposed that Arab states attending the U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference in Annapolis hold a follow-up meeting in Moscow "in January that would discuss the Syrian and Lebanese tracks of the peace process, in addition to the Palestinian track," a Riyadh-based Arab diplomat said last week. According to the Arab diplomat, the U.S. has also suggested that the Annapolis conference establish a follow-up committee that would monitor future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The committee would draw its membership from the Quartet and an Arab contact group. (AFP/Yahoo)
Limiting IDF West Bank Operations Increases Rocket Threat on Tel Aviv
by Amos Harel
The Shin Bet and IDF agree that if the IDF stops operating in West Bank towns, the PA will not be able to impose order there and it would take just a few months for an effective infrastructure to develop in those towns for producing Kassam rockets that would threaten Israel's Sharon and Dan regions. (Ha'aretz)
Hamas Demands UN Rescind '47 Partition
Hamas last week called on the UN to rescind the 1947 decision to partition Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs. The group said in a statement, released on the 60th anniversary of the UN vote, that "Palestine is Arab Islamic land, from the river to the sea, including Jerusalem... there is no room in it for the Jews." Regarding the partition decision, Hamas said that "correcting mistakes is nothing to be ashamed of, but prolonging it is exploitation." (Jerusalem Post)
See also After Annapolis: PA TV Shows "Palestine" Map Erasing Israel by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook (Palestinian Media Watch)
For Gaza Rocket Crews, Violence Is a Way of Life
by Paul Martin
 Four armed men joined Abu Haroon, prayed on mats stretched out beside their weapons, and climbed into a white jeep, an al-Samoud rocket carefully concealed with an oily cloth in the back of the vehicle. "We have orders not to fire any rockets on Tuesday because of the Annapolis summit, but we can resume normal activities after the summit ends," Haroon explained, claiming he is totally loyal to the political leadership of Fatah. Inside a safe house, Mohammed, a 23-year-old computer specialist, was using Google Earth to locate targets on the Israeli side of the fence.
See also Palestinian Rocket Fire Continues (Jerusalem Post)
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Israel, PA Agree to Strive for Accord by End of 2008
by Barak Ravid , Aluf Benn and Assaf Uni
 Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed last week 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 upon by the two 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. (Ha'aretz)
See also The Full Texts of the Bush, Abbas and Olmert Speeches (Ha'aretz)
See also Videos from the Conference and Reactions (CNN)
Hamas Slams Annapolis, Vows to Keep Fighting Israel
by Nidal al-Mughrabi
 Vowing to go on fighting the "Zionist enemy," Hamas called Mahmoud Abbas the worst leader in Palestinian history last week and said he had no right to make concessions to Israel at the Annapolis peace conference. Speaking at an "anti-Annapolis" conference in Gaza, Hamas leaders said Abbas did not represent the Palestinian people and vowed never to recognize Israel. "We say (to Abbas) that any concessions will not be binding on our people and on future generations," said Hamas Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh. (Reuters)
See also Reaction to Annapolis in the West Bank and Gaza (YouTube)
See also PA Police Kill Anti-Annapolis Protester by Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
Bullets and TNT on Tap as Tunnellers Beat the Blockade
by Conal Urquhart
 Fresh milk is impossible to find but Viagra, TNT, dates or bullets are readily available. While the Gaza Strip is being squeezed by Israeli sanctions, the border town of Rafah has become an unofficial free trade zone where goods are smuggled from Egypt through an ever increasing number of tunnels. While many commodities are unavailable in the rest of Gaza, a variety of imports can be found in Rafah. Towers of cartons of Egyptian cigarettes are for sale on pavements, the price having risen from £1 to £4 a packet since Israel stopped imports. Other imports are more dangerous: one teenager showed off a fist-sized lump of chalky TNT, which militant groups grind down to make the explosive for the rockets they fire into Israel. (Guardian-UK)
Iran Builds Missile With Range to Reach Israel, U.S. Forces
by Ladane Nasseri
Iran said it constructed a missile capable of traveling 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), a range that takes in Israel's major cities and U.S. bases in the Middle East. "The construction of the Ashura missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers," is "part of the Defense Ministry's accomplishments," the state-run Fars news agency last week quoted Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar as saying. Iran's addition to its missile arsenal is likely to increase tensions between the government in Tehran and the Bush administration. Iran is defying United Nations Security Council demands to suspend a nuclear program that the U.S. and several major European countries suspect is cover for the development of a bomb. (Bloomberg)
See also Annapolis Talks Peace, Iran Talks War (YouTube)
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