Syria has apparently changed its position over the weekend and will "almost certainly" send a representative to the Annapolis conference, since the U.S. has clarified that the status of the Golan Heights will be on the agenda. Syrian lawmaker Mohammed Habash made the announcement in an interview on Radio Sawa, an Arabic-language radio station funded by the U.S.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said he will be attending but added that he will not cooperate with "theatrics such as handshakes with Israeli leaders." Al-Faisal spoke at an Arab League press conference in Cairo following the decision by the organizations' members Friday to send high-level diplomatic representation to the summit.
"I am not hiding the Saudi position," al-Faisal said. "We hesitated until now about participating. Had we not reached a pan-Arab agreement [on the matter], we would not have participated. But we shall not oppose an Arab consensus, and Saudi Arabia will march with its brothers on the path agreed upon."
Excerpted
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124357
Hamas ‘shocked’ at Arab backing of Annapolis moot
Sunday, November 25, 2007
GAZA: Hamas on Saturday condemned a decision by Arab powers to endorse next week’s US-hosted Israeli-Palestinian peace conference, saying the talks would favour the Jewish state’s policies rather than Palestinian demands. Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel and broke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after seizing control of the Gaza Strip in a June civil war, is excluded from the Nov. 27 conference in Annapolis.
Excerpted
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007/11/25/story_25-11-2007_pg4_4
The Al-Fajr Media Center--Al-Qaida's official online logistical network--has released a new statement titled, "We'll Do It Again: Annapolis Shall Not Rescue Their Metropolis, Written by a Soldier in the Army Aiming to Destroy Their Metropolis."
The statement condemned the upcoming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Annapolis, Maryland, as a bid to "declare war against the Muslims and to cleanse the desire for jihad from each and every believer." The communique further boasted of Al-Qaida's role in "the collapse of Manhattan’s metropolis": "The decision to target the World Trade Center during the [9/11] raids was a wise one because it made other weaker regimes tremble, run, and hide."
http://www.nefafoundation.org/
There are no specific terror threats to next week's Mideast peace conference scheduled in Annapolis, Md., although authorities will be keeping an eye out for "lone-wolf" terrorists who might act outside of what observers are predicting.