Annapolis joint statement was completed with just minutes to spare - Haaretz

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Thu., November 29, 2007 Kislev 19, 5768

Israel Time: 14:55 (EST+7)

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		PM Ehud Olmert, U.S. President George Bush, and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas shaking hands shortly after presenting a joint statement at the Annapolis summit Tuesday. (Reuters)

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Last update - 11:41 28/11/2007

Annapolis joint statement was completed with just minutes to spare

By Avi Issacharoff and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents

Tags: Erekat, Livni, Annapolis

The joint Israeli-Palestinian declaration issued at Annapolis on Tuesday was completed less than half an hour beforehand, Israeli and Palestinian sources told Haaretz.

According to the Palestinian sources, yet another round of Israeli-Palestinian talks on the document broke off at midnight on Monday with no results. At that point, Saeb Erekat replaced Ahmed Qureia, the head of the Palestinian negotiating team, and the talks resumed, but still no progress was made.

The next morning, after the parties already had landed in Annapolis, the talks continued. Finally, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas out of a three-way meeting with U.S. President George Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and pressured him to approve the draft document, the sources said. Eventually, he did so, enabling Bush to read it to the conference.

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The Israeli sources noted that Bush was clearly pushing for the document: At his three-way meeting with Abbas and Olmert Tuesday morning, they said, the first words out of his mouth were, "What's happening with the joint declaration?"

But the Israelis had a different version of what had happened: They said the Monday night talks with Erekat produced several agreements, but the next morning, the Palestinians changed their mind. That, said the Israelis, already had happened several times during talks on the declaration, but they were shocked that the Palestinians were doing it again at this late date and on such fundamental issues as a timetable for negotiations and reference to the road map peace plan. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who headed the Israeli team, lost her temper and told Qureia to "take it or get lost," the sources said.

As the difficulties mounted, there were also fierce arguments within the Israeli team: Livni very much wanted a joint declaration, but some members of the team said it was "a waste of time," and suggested she forget about it. Olmert, however, sided with Livni, and the Americans' determination tipped the scales.

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1.	Our New Golda	03:25	\|	Commonsense	28/11/07

2.	This American Wants To Tell Livni TO GET LOST!	03:52	\|	Proud Pal Defender	28/11/07

3.	Oslo 3	04:26	\|	MR	28/11/07

4.	kovod to the stars	06:04	\|	Dovid	28/11/07

5.	Well, one can`t say diplomatic negotations are not lively	06:09	\|	Smadar	28/11/07

6.	1 she is anything but a Golda	06:29	\|	common sense (real)	28/11/07

7.	The Arabs must make very painful concessions for real peace!	06:37	\|	Uzi	28/11/07

8.	There can never be separate Arab polity west of the Jordan!	06:39	\|	Uzi	28/11/07

9.	Equitable and practicable peace plan that may work for a change:	06:41	\|	Uzi	28/11/07

10.	LOL You Tell Them Livni	07:11	\|	Rivka	28/11/07

11.	LOL You Tell Them Livni	07:16	\|	Rivka	28/11/07

12.	PALESTINIANS WILL CHANGE THEIR MIND AGAIN,LIVNI & OLMERT GET LOST	07:38	\|	VOICE of MOSHIACH)))	28/11/07

13.	Calling Doctor Bush	07:41	\|	Natallie Durson	28/11/07

14.	#2 - Abbas controls nothing and his signature is worth nothing!	07:56	\|	redmike	28/11/07

15.	#1 - Golda was forced to resign because of incompetence !	07:59	\|	redmike	28/11/07

16.	#4 - relax, nothing happened. Annapolis was a non -event!	08:03	\|	redmike	28/11/07

17.	To #2 Proud Pal Defender	08:47	\|	Levi	28/11/07

18.	In light of the refusal to clearly recognize Israel as	09:03	\|	Nahumi	28/11/07

19.	In hebrew she said "take it or leave us alone"	09:42	\|	Judith, Haifa	28/11/07

20.	As I`ve said before, Livni is the real LEADER of Israel	09:48	\|	Judith, Haifa	28/11/07

21.	That a girl	09:49	\|	Ruby	28/11/07

22.	These signatures are useless like the Oslo agreement	09:57	\|	e.m	28/11/07

23.	Hey Levi	09:57	\|	Chalres Fundrick	28/11/07

24.	Re:Proud Pal defender	10:36	\|	e.m	28/11/07

25.	RICE PRESSURISED ABBAS TO SIGN DOCUMENT	10:48	\|	TrippleJump	28/11/07

26.	#23 - maybe English is not your mother tongue?	10:49	\|	redmike	28/11/07

27.	a lamb between tigers	10:58	\|	Palestinian	28/11/07

28.	What Stands Out From This Most Clearly?	11:04	\|	Yaakov Sullivan	28/11/07

29.	More bullying	11:16	\|	Marc	28/11/07

30.	some iddy bitty advice	12:00	\|	VOICE of the MOHEL))	28/11/07

31.	Yaakov Sulivan #28	12:07	\|	Avi Yerushalmi	28/11/07

32.	Deja Vu	12:10	\|	Yehudit	28/11/07

33.	Bush photo op and bullshit drama	12:45	\|	David Howard	28/11/07

34.	Hey Fundreck read my reply	13:13	\|	Alan	28/11/07

35.	Joint statement	13:58	\|	khader herzallah	28/11/07

36.	#35 - Israel doesn`t need peace - thank you!	15:20	\|	redmike	28/11/07

37.	PPD	15:37	\|	Margie in Tel Aviv	28/11/07

38.	paging neville chamberlain	16:09	\|	edgar	28/11/07

39.	Annapolis has failed	14:51	\|	Janet	29/11/07

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