Israel

• At a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Jerusalem on Oct. 17, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Israel's aim before the Annapolis summit is "To reach understanding on the widest possible common ground in the time available," adding that "Israel is ready for compromise in a way that will enable us to realize the goal of two states…We hope to discover that same willingness on the Palestinian side." [1]
  
  
• Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appointed Livni to the Israeli negotiating team. In reference to the prospect of a joint Israeli-Palestinian statement prior to the Annapolis summit, Olmert said "We would like very much for the foundations of the statement to be ratified by the relevant Israeli and Palestinian elements. Following this, negotiations concerning the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel will begin." [2]
  
  
• Olmert specified at a weekly government cabinet meeting on Oct. 14 that "Setting a timetable in advance for such a [peace] process would create more problems than it would resolve and would create obstacles." [3]
  

Palestinian Authority

• Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas announced after his meeting on Oct. 15 with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that he will not take part in the peace conference "at any cost," but only after reaching a timetable for an agreement with Israel. "We cannot waste time because that is in the interest of no one, and going at all cost is impossible," Abbas said to reporters after meeting with Rice. [4]
  
  
• Abbas promised that when negotiations with Israel resume, a clause will be included stipulating that by the end of negotiations "Not one [Palestinian] prisoner will be left in occupation prisons." [5]
  
  
• Palestine Press Agency reported that Abbas will tour a number of Arab states immediately after the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which took place on Oct. 13. The tour will comprise those states participating in the Annapolis conference, with the aim of coordinating and uniting Arab positions prior to the conference. [6]  
  
  
• In an interview with "Voice of Palestine" radio station, Palestinian negotiator Yasser Abed-Rabo spoke of:
  • The need to reach an understanding before the Annapolis summit. "Without a complete agreement or understanding on these issues the entire political process will be jeopardized, not only the planned conference," Abed-Rabo said.
  • The necessity of a timetable. He specified that "From now until the conference there must be a framework document that will guarantee clear principles, because we cannot march towards the unknown or towards documents which will substitute the international legitimacy and the principles accepted by the world to solve the Palestinian issue."
  • A resolution of the issue of Jerusalem. Abed-Rabo said that the "Jerusalem which Olmert spoke about is not Jerusalem. Jerusalem is known by its 1967 borders, and we cannot tear Jerusalem into neighbourhoods. Jerusalem is Sheikh-Jarah, Wadi Joz, the Mount of Olives, and all of its known neighbourhoods." [7]
    

Hamas

• Hamas Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's plan to create a trilateral security committee headed by PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Blair himself is designed to "Complete the series of conspiracies against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance factions, especially Hamas and the Islamic Jihad." [8]  
  
  
• Hamas praised Iranian Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei for calling upon Arab governments to boycott the Annapolis meeting. [9]  Khamenei said in a speech to a crowd of thousands at the Great Mosque in Teheran that the U.S. is convening the conference "To rescue the Zionist regime which was slapped in the face by Hezbollah." [10]
  
  
• Syrian-based political leader Khaled Mashaal called for a boycott of the Annapolis summit during a statement on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. [11]
  
  
• Rejecting claims by former Hamas spokesman Razi Hamad that the militant group was considering negotiations with Israel, Hamas affirmed its stance opposing "all forms of negotiation with the Israeli occupation." In a letter to the German news agency DPA, Hamas said that "Razi Hamad's statements do not reflect the position of the movement in this matter or any other." [12]
  
  
• Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman said that "Any political negotiations with the occupation diminish Palestinian rights and principles." [13]

Footnotes

[1] Joint press conference: FM Livni and Secy of State Rice, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oct. 17, 2007,
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Speeches+by+Israeli+leaders/2007/Joint+
press+conference+FM+Livni+and+Secy+of+State+Rice+17-Oct-2007.htm

[2] Ravid, Barak, "Livni to head the team which will draft Annapolis statement," Haaretz, Oct. 14, 2007,
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/912621.html   
[3] Cabinet Communiqué," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oct. 17, 2007, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2007/Cabinet+Communique+14-Oct-2007.htm
[4] "The President: We will not leave for the international conference at all cost, we want a clear document and a timetable for negotiations," Alayam, Oct. 18, 2007,
http://www.al-ayyam.com/znews/site/template/Doc_View.aspx?did=68193&Date=10/18/2007
[5] "President promises to bind end of negotiations with Israel and release of all prisoners from occupation prisons," Alayam , Oct. 12, 2007
http://www.al-ayyam.com/znews/site/template/Doc_View.aspx?did=67878&Date=10/12/2007 
[6] "President Abbas will leave on Arab tour to unite and coordinate positions before Annapolis conference," Palestine Press Agency , Oct. 14, 2007,
http://www.palpress.ps/arabic/index.php?maa=ReadStory&ChannelID=95182
[7] "Abed-Rabo: There must be a framework document and a timetable to end the occupation, and we will not go towards the unknown." Palestine Press Agency , Oct. 16, 2007
http://www.palpress.ps/arabic/index.php?maa=ReadStory&ChannelID=95430
[8] "Hamas: Blair's plan strengthens rupture and protects the occupation," Pal-Media News Agency, Oct. 18, 2007,
http://www.pal-media.net/  
[9] "Hamas welcomes IR Leader's call to block 'fall meeting' and his invitation for Palestinian unity," Qods News Agency , Oct. 14, 2007,
http://en.qodsna.com/NewsBody.aspx?ID=2106

[10] "P.A. and Israel welcome Rise with a renewal of their position regarding the 'document'; Khamenai calls on Arabs to boycott the International conference," Alhayat, Oct. 14, 2007,
http://www.alhayat.com/arab_news/levant_news/10-2007/Item-20071013-9aa4c2de-c0a8-10ed-00c3-e8c49126039b/story.html  
[11] "P.A. and Israel welcome Rise with a renewal of their position regarding the 'document'; Khamenai calls on Arabs to boycott the International conference," Alhayat , Oct. 14, 2007,
http://www.alhayat.com/arab_news/levant_news/10-2007/Item-20071013-9aa4c2de-c0a8-10ed-00c3-e8c49126039b/story.html  
[12] "Hamas: The Movement is not committed by Razi Hamad's statements about negotiating with Israel, and he only represents himself," Alayam, Oct. 17, 2007,
http://www.al-ayyam.com/znews/site/template/Doc_View.aspx?did=68128&Date=10/17/2007  
[13] "Hamas: The Movement is not committed by Razi Hamad's statements about negotiating with Israel, and he only represents himself," Alayam , Oct. 17, 2007, http://www.al-ayyam.com/znews/site/template/Doc_View.aspx?did=68128&Date=10/17/2007