Annapolis Summit- What Happens Next?
By Erick Stakelbeck
CBN News Terror Analyst
November 28, 2007
CBNNews.com - WASHINGTON - In many ways, it was the beginning of the beginning. Israeli and Palestinian leaders emerged from Annapolis promising to hold intensive, bi-weekly peace talks that will kick off on December 12.
They say no topic will be off the table-including past sticking points such as control of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees' so-called "Right of Return." Both sides agreed to work towards establishing a Palestinian state by the end of 2008.
CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell joined Pat Robertson to explain the significance of the Annapolis summit. Click play to watch the interview following CBN News Terror Analyst Erick Stakelbeck's report.
"I believe that there is no just solution other than the solution of two national states," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said. "We are prepared to make a painful compromise, rife with risks, in order to realize these aspirations."
"We stretch our hands to you as equal partners in peace," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said. "The whole world is our witness."
Olmert says he wants peace not only with the Palestinians, but all Arab states.
Representatives from nearly every Arab League nation were in Annapolis, including Syria and Saudi Arabia. Neither of those countries have diplomatic relations with Israel. But both cautiously approved of the new plan.
"We hope that the positive words will be matched by positive actions on the ground," said Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Ambassador to the U.S.
The fact that Hamas controls the entire Gaza Strip - roughly 1/3 of the Palestinian population - has led some analysts to wonder whether any deal struck by Abbas would be viewed as legitimate by Palestinians on the ground.
Thousands of Hamas supporters in the Gaza Strip rallied against the Annapolis meetings yesterday. And Hamas's main backer, Iran, will play host to an alternative conference next week featuring Hamas and its fellow terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
"Hamas and Islamic Jihad, they don't hide it--they are supported by Syria and Iran. So at the end of the day, it's really in Damascus and Tehran that we want to see the answer to this, and the news is not so good. Tehran is completely opposed to this process," Mideast expert Walid Phares said,
President Bush will meet separately with Abbas and Olmert today, then get them together for a joint session signifying the formal start of the talks. All sides are cautiously optimistic, even though Abbas and Olmert are extremely unpopular at home and Bush only has 14 months left in office to oversee the peace process.
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