NEWS: Some find new hope for the Palestinian cause in the Arab uprisings. Israel and the Arab states may meet to discuss a nuclear-free Middle East. Marwan Barghouti again talks about mass demonstrations following a UN vote. The Chinese military chief will visit Israel. Western diplomats warn about the consequences of Palestinian UN plans. Pres. Peres says Israeli-Palestinian peace is still possible. The US says it's “deeply concerned” about Israel's new settlement plans in occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli businesses are criticized for "Jews-only" hiring policies. Palestinian police are angered by a satirical TV program. Palestinian prisoners languish for years in Israeli administrative detention. COMMENTARY: Shai Feldman examines the background and implications of a potential Palestinian UN initiative. Ibrahim Sharqieh says the US must support a Palestinian statehood bid. Nehemia Shtrasler says the Netanyahu government fits very well in the Middle East. Gershon Baskin proposes a draft UN Security Council resolution affirming two states for two peoples. Kenneth Bandler says Jewish Americans need to take more interest in Palestinian citizens of Israel. Jessica Steinberg says by accepting the 1967 lines in theory, PM Netanyahu is strategically maneuvering. The Jordan Times says Jordan strongly supports the Palestinian cause. Henry Siegman says there are no real arguments against Palestinian statehood. Hussein Ibish analyzes the political implications of a new book tracing the history of traditional Palestinian costume.

The fabric of Palestinian identity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) August 9, 2011 - 12:00am

What can a book about traditional folkloric costumes tell us about contemporary politics? Quite a lot as it happens. Hanan Karaman Munayyer’s beautiful new volume, “Traditional Palestinian Costume: Origins and Evolution” (Interlink, 2011) combines superb photography of the renowned Munayyer collection of traditional Palestinian dress with an analysis of their origins, evolution and variations. Since the 1980s, Munayyer and her husband Farah have been assembling these costumes and other artifacts of Palestinian traditional life in their Palestinian Heritage Foundation.

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Challenging the Insupportable Arguments against Palestinian Statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National Interest
by Henry Siegman - (Opinion) August 10, 2011 - 12:00am

In their near-hysterical efforts to prevent Palestinians from asking the United Nations to recognize the Palestinian right to self-determination and statehood in the West Bank and Gaza, Israel and the United States have put forward a number of insupportable arguments that cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.

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Reinforcing support
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) August 10, 2011 - 12:00am

His Majesty King Abdullah held talks with visiting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, reiterating Jordan’s support for the Palestinians’ quest for statehood and freedom. Jordan has legitimate concerns about an eventual “deal” on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict which, as our foreign minister underscored, can best be reached through negotiations. In the absence of talks, however, which Israel shows no interest in, continuing to hang on to its intransigent stand, the options are limited and the Palestinians’ statehood bid will have to be pursued at the UN.

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In accepting ‘67 lines for talks, Netanyahu tries some political maneuvering
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Jessica Steinberg - (Opinion) August 9, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- In the never-ending game of diplomatic chess played by Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week made a new move to try to outflank the Palestinians. On Aug. 2, he said that Israel is ready to use the pre-1967 lines as a rough starting point for discussion of a Palestinian state -- if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state and back down from their plan to petition the United Nations for statehood recognition in September.

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On My Mind: American Jews and Israeli Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Kenneth Bandler - (Opinion) August 10, 2011 - 12:00am

Encouraging American Jewish interest in the 20 percent of Israeli citizens who are not Jewish has been a longstanding challenge. For a long time learning about the history and concerns of the Arab minority visiting their communities, or engaging with their representatives who come to the United States on speaking tours, was relegated to a very low priority, often barely on the radar.

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Encouraging Peace: Forgetting September
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 9, 2011 - 12:00am

The sudden sprouting of tent camps and Israeli demonstrations has allowed the public a brief reprieve from having to confront Israel’s international reality and the Palestinian decision to bring the conflict to the UN Security Council in September.While the public is busy thinking about solutions to all the social-economic distortions, the US has been busy trying to pre-empt disaster.

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Netanyahu's government has proven it fits in well in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nehemia Shtrasler - (Opinion) August 10, 2011 - 12:00am

No question about it, the establishment of the Trajtenberg Committee is another embarrassment for the Finance Ministry. The people at the treasury are skulking about, bruised and shattered, unable to understand how they fell so far. The fact that the panel for socioeconomic change is headed by an outsider, not the director general of the ministry or its budgets director, proves how weak the ministry and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz have become.

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Why the US must support bid for Palestinian statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ibrahim Sharqieh - (Opinion) August 9, 2011 - 12:00am

In 1998, while attending a peace process conference in Germany, I witnessed intense discussions about whether Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat should unilaterally declare a Palestinian state. (The Oslo Accord’s five-year interim phase was to end one month after the conference date.) European diplomats argued aggressively against the declaration, insisting that more time should be given to negotiations. Ultimately, pressure, particularly from Europe and the United States, changed the course of action for Mr. Arafat, and no state was declared.

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Beyond September: Lessons from Failed Mideast Diplomacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Brandeis University Crown Center for Middle East Studies
by Shai Feldman - (Analysis) August 10, 2011 - 12:00am

There seems to be a broad consensus that the Palestinian Authority’s strategic decision to seek a declaration of independent statehood at the United Nations this coming September resulted from deep frustration if not complete hopelessness regarding the prospects for a negotiated resolution of the conflict. PA President Mahmoud Abbas has made this clear on a number of occasions, emphasizing that a negotiated resolution of the conflict remains his preferred option but that no acceptable negotiating terms have been presented to him.

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