Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)
Palestinian-Israeli Negotiations
Target Date: The end of 2008
Goal: The establishment of a secure and viable Palestinian state, coexisting with Israel, and resolution of all outstanding issues, including final-status issues (status of Jerusalem, borders, refugees, and security).
Location: Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas will inaugurate their bilateral negotiations in Washington with President Bush on Wednesday, November 28. However, according to Olmert’s statement at Annapolis, the bulk of the negotiations will take place in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Negotiators: A joint Palestinian-Israeli steering committee will first meet on December 12. The steering committee will be responsible for creating a joint work plan and for forming and monitoring negotiating teams. President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert will continue their bi-weekly meetings throughout the negotiations.
Format of Negotiations: The treaty negotiations will be bilateral, direct, and based on previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements, U.N. resolutions 242 and 338, the 2003 Roadmap, and the 2004 letter from President Bush to the Prime Minister of Israel.
Follow-Up on the Roadmap
Goal: To immediately implement Israeli and Palestinian obligations under the 2003 performance-based roadmap until a peace treaty is reached. These include freezing settlement activity and combating terrorism.
Implementation and Monitoring: An American, Palestinian, and Israeli mechanism will be created to implement roadmap responsibilities. This will be led by the United States, and U.S. General Jim Jones will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating each party’s progress.
International Donors Conference
Date: December 17th
Location: Paris
Agenda: To raise funding for projects proposed by Quartet Envoy Tony Blair aimed at strengthening the Palestinian economy and institutions. These projects include repairing infrastructure, increasing investment in Palestinian businesses, and renovating towns and cities. Most of these projects will take place in the West Bank.
The Quartet will also meet during the donors conference to discuss ways to support the Annapolis agreement.
Russian Post-Annapolis Follow-Up Conference
Date: Not yet announced, possibly in the spring of 2008.
Location: Moscow
Participants: Still unknown, but reportedly the U.S. suggested that the follow-up meeting in Moscow be primarily for Annapolis’ Arab participants.
Agenda: Official agenda items have not been specified, though there has been speculation that the Moscow conference will deal with the Israeli-Syrian track, rather than the Israeli-Palestinian track.
