NEWS: House Republicans are developing a growing bond with PM Netanyahu. A compromise may be brewing in the UN whereby Palestinians apply for full membership but do not press for a vote. Sources say it is all an effort to “buy time.” Hamas is staying on the sidelines of the issue. Thousands of Palestinians rally in support. Pres. Abbas will meet with Pres. Obama in New York. Israel's finance minister Steinitz again threatens to withhold Palestinian tax revenues. A new poll suggests 70% of Israelis say they should accept whatever the UN decides. Abbas rejects allegations of corruption. A former aide to the late Pres. Arafat says Abbas is making a big mistake. COMMENTARY: Michael Weiss says the Palestinian UN gambit is misguided, but no one should cut off funds to the PA.Zvi Bar'el says the US should recognize Palestine. Issacharoff and Harel say both parties hope to keep the confrontation in New York, and not on the ground. Daniel Levy says “leading from behind” won't work for the US in this case. Gareth Evans says the US and Israel are on the wrong side of history.Claude Salhani says the Palestinians cannot afford to lose the fight at the Security Council. Tony Karon says the Palestinians are looking for a way out. Rami Khouri says this week, the Israeli and American stranglehold on the process may finally end. David Rothkopf says Israel and the Palestinians really need changes of leadership. Hussein Ibish contrasts the virtual "state" Palestinians are trying to achieve at the UN with the really existing but largely unrecognized Kosovar state, and says a compromise at the UN must be found.