A set date for the Annapolis Conference has not been defined yet, but Washington counts a lot on this conference which should launch serious negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians and in seeking a better achievement than the invasion of Iraq and its resulting chaos with the hope that President Bush would end his term with such an achievement. US Secretary of State Rice who concluded last Monday a round of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders trying to bridge the gap between both sides said that failure of the conference is not an option. A senior official at the US State Department said at the conclusion of Rice visit which is the eighth to the region this year: there are political risks for everyone. The risks are major especially to the Israelis and Palestinians; the US government wont fall but we don’t rule out the possibility of eruption of political clashes for the Israelis and Palestinians as a result to some of the decisions that they might have to take. The official who accompanied Rice in her visit said the conference is most likely to be held in the last week of November and with the exception of the major parties, the representation of the other countries participating in the conference will be at the ministerial level. We are on the way to hold the conference at some time before the end of this month I hope, I don’t see anything to make us move outside this time framework but one cannot be sure of anything in the Middle East. He stated that the invitations will be sent out to the members of the Quartet Committee, and other major world powers and Arab countries, such as Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Syria.

In the meantime, a Palestinian official said the United States decided in principle to extend the invitations to the Annapolis Conference and it decided in principle that the date of the conference would be November 26, 2007. He added: Rice will return to the region on November 15, to conclude the preparations between both the Palestinian and Israeli sides on drafting the document of principles that both sides will discuss in order to solve the final issues in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and in ending the occupation and establishing the independent Palestinian state next to the state of Israel.

In the meantime, the US General Consul in Jerusalem Jacob Walles revealed that the United States will extend the invitations within one week to ten days, but refrained from giving an exact date for the conference. He said most probably the conference will be held as announced earlier. He stressed that the conference will launch a continuous and serious negotiations process on all outstanding issues towards reaching an agreement before the end of Bush presidential term next year. We all focus on the day after Annapolis conference which is supposed to witness negotiations between both sides and it is clear what are the issues that will have to be discussed: Jerusalem, the borders, the refugees, the settlements, the water, and bilateral relations. He announced that both the Palestinian and Israeli sides agree on the American assistance to them to implement the first phase of the roadmap and on the US assessment on how both sides implemented their commitments. We will work with both sides on this matter, but on how we will execute this, we will have to discuss it with the parties. He stressed that there is an Israeli commitment to the United States on implementing the first phase of the roadmap with regards to the removal of the settlement outposts and we expect this to happen. Both sides have commitments and we expect both sides to implement their commitments immediately. Walles denied the reports that the United States intends to present the joint document; he said drafting the document is between both sides. When asked on how Rice intends to lead the negotiations that should lead to an agreement after the failure of several experiences in the past, he said: Rice spent some time talking with people who were involved in the negotiations, such as former President Clinton, and former US Secretary of State James Baker, and others to make use of their experiences. He added: our role is to assist both sides who will discuss the issues on their own and if they decide to hold the negotiations in Taba or in Eilat, this will be their option.

Published at Al Ayyam NewsPaper on November 7, 2007