Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that the U.S.-brokered Mideast peace conference on Tuesday was a failure and that Israel is doomed to collapse.
The comments, lashing out at the Annapolis gathering that many saw as aimed at isolating Iran, marked the first time in months that the hard-line Iranian president used such strong anti-Israeli rhetoric.
"It is impossible that the Zionist regime will survive. Collapse is in the nature of this regime because it has been created on aggression, lying, oppression and crime," Ahmadinejad said after a cabinet meeting, according to state-run television.  
"Soon, even the most politically doltish individuals will understand that this conference was a failure from the beginning," he said, the official IRNA news agency reported.
In a reference to Arab countries who attended the conference, he said, "we are disappointed that some individuals fell victim to the sinister Zionist regime. They are mistaken if they thought that this summit will bring any achievements for them."
Iran has repeatedly condemned the Annapolis conference, saying it would fail to bring any peace for the Palestinians and warning that Arab countries who participated will be discredited in the eyes of their people. Iran on Tuesday expressed surprise ...   more »

America the big winner of Annapolis conference; Syria the big loser
Ron Ben-Yishai
The American Administration gambled, and won the jackpot. In every respect, the Annapolis Conference is a Bush success story and particularly a Condoleezza Rice success story. Both were able to achieve their targets: An impressive diplomatic show of force vis-à-vis radical Islam and Iran, which are now presented as isolated and lacking legitimacy in the international and Mideastern arena; the launching of Israeli-Palestinian talks on a final-status agreement; and Arab and Muslim backing for the efforts to end the conflict.  
The factor attesting to Washington’s overwhelming success is the full presence, at the highest ranks, of all Mideastern countries and leading international community elements, as well as the joint declaration that the Administration managed to squeeze out of Olmert and Abbas. Bush and Condi could not hope for more than that.  
On the other hand, the big loser is Syria. Bashar Assad sent a representative to Annapolis in the hopes that during the meeting participants will recognize Damascus’ interests (returning the Golan Heights and reinstating Syria’s special status in Lebanon), or at least make note of them in a respectful manner. Yet Bush, Abbas, and ...   more »

Group of right-wing rabbis writes open letter to US president demanding he cancel Annapolis summit or risk provoking 'wrath of the almighty.' Rabbis assert Katrina disaster a result of America's support of 2005 disengagement, say California fires a warning
Neta Sela
A fringe group of prominent ultranationalist rabbis issued a harshly-worded letter to United States President George W. Bush earlier this week, warning him that the upcoming Annapolis peace conference would bring destruction upon America.
The rabbis evoke their previous prediction in 2005, when they published an open letter to Bush in the New York Times, demanding the US rescind its support of the disengagement plan.
Ultranationalist Group  
SOS Israel to award citations to refuseniks / Efrat Weiss  
Right-wing movement to hold event honoring soldiers who disobeyed orders to evacuate Jewish squatters from Hebron market. Event timed to coincide with IDF ceremony honoring soldiers for bravery during last summer's war with Hizbullah     
"We wrote to President Bush, a man who believes in the Bible, to warn him against the terrible danger to which he is exposing his country by hosting such a conference," said Rabbi Meir Druckman, one of signatories to the letter.  
"The land of ...   more »

Bush administration established as sole judge Palestinians fighting terror
By Aaron Klein
The U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., is the site of the Middle East summit this week (Photo: Carrie Devorah)
JERUSALEM – Reacting to today's Annapolis summit, there was some concern in Jerusalem regarding the role the U.S. has taken as the sole judge of whether the Israelis and Palestinians are fulfilling commitments leading up to the creation of a Palestinian state.
WND reported earlier this week in the run-up to the Annapolis summit that the U.S. already held back from Israel reports critical of the Palestinians fight against terror groups, according to informed diplomatic sources.
At the U.S.-sponsored conference, President Bush today read a joint declaration agreed to by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert committing the two to launch immediate negotiations aimed at "two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side."
The parties said they would aim to conclude an agreement before Bush leaves office next year, with Israel expected to evacuate large swaths of the West Bank, handing Abbas the strategic territory.  
The declaration also pledges Israelis and Palestinians will fulfill the U.S.-brokered "Road Map," which calls for the ...   more »