Nov. 28 Headlines
Wednesday
HA’ARETZ
1. Annapolis Conference: Abbas – "We are between two historic phases: Pre-and post-Annapolis. This opportunity will not return. Bush – "With leaders of courage on both sides, now is the time to come together and seek the peace that both sides desire." Olmert – "I have no doubt that the reality created in our region in 1967 will change significantly…We are ready for it."
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS TO OPEN IN TWO WEEKS.
US, Israeli and Palestinian Authority leaders declare effort to reach agreement by end of 2008. Process to be officially launched today at White House.
2. THUS NEGOTIATIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED: 14 TEAMS IN NEGOTIATIONS ADMINISTRATION TO BE ESTABLISHED BY THE GOVERNMENT.
MA’ARIV
1. By end of 2008: agreement on permanent settlement.
YEAR OF TESTING.
President Bush wants to end term with Palestinian state. Abu Mazen wants to survive. And Olmert? He needs to move diplomatic negotiations forward, survive Winograd and, mainly, remain Prime Minister.
2. ISRAEL'S CREDIT RATING RISES.
The good news: For first time in 12 years, credit rating rose. Significance: More foreign investment on the way.
YEDIOT AHRONOT
1. Israel and the Palestinians: We will work to achieve agreement by end of 2008.
NEW BEGINNING.
2. JAFFA KINDERGARTEN: ONLY FOR ETHIOPIANS.
Parents: This hurts us. Municipality: It is sheer coincidence that all are from same ethnic group.
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SUMMARY OF EDITORIALS FROM THE HEBREW PRESS
Yediot Ahronot suggests that, "Someone who is unfamiliar with Middle East affairs could have thought that yesterday's ceremony marked the signing of a permanent peace agreement, not the beginning of the beginning of negotiations under adverse conditions."
The Jerusalem Post agrees with President Bush, when he claims that the battle for Arab-Israeli peace has become part of the battle against Islamic "extremists." This means that 2008, the year in which Arabs and Israelis are aiming to reach agreement on the establishment of a Palestinian state, must also be the year that the Iranian regime's bid for nuclear-backed hegemony is repelled.
Haaretz calls for teachers get off their high horse and put an end to their strike. It is hard even for those who supported the strike to justify its continuation, and to allow the disruption of studies and day-to-day routine for 550,000 students.
Ma'ariv believes that the central problem to attaining peace does not concern the relative strength or weakness of the leaders involved, "but rather the fact that the positions of the Israelis and the Palestinians are in such sharp contravention that any attempt to bridge them is destined to reach a dead end." In wake of the 60th anniversary of UN General Assembly Resolution #181, the editors venture that Israeli perceptions should start to focus on a regional solution and not on partitioning the country.
[Nachum Barnea and Tzipi Hotobali wrote today’s articles in Yediot Ahronot and Ma'ariv, respectively.
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