Viewed as a modest success by some and as a failure by others, the Annapolis summit ended Tuesday with a decision by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert to work toward a peace agreement by the end of 2008.

The summit, convened by the Bush administration to move forward a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, was initially expected to elicit concessions on both sides. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had expressed optimism that Palestinian president Abbas would agree to subdue militant groups and that Olmert would promise to stop further Israeli settlements from being built in the West Bank.

Expectations were tempered as the summit approached, however, and in the end, no immediate concessions were made. The summit did produce a document intended to guide peace talks through 2008.

Gary Burge, a Wheaton professor and author of Whose Land? Whose Promise?: What Christians Are Not Being Told About Israel and the Palestinians, said he was skeptical ...

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