September 22nd

Why Palestinian leadership should remain firm ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by John V. Whitbeck - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am Let us think out loud as Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas plans to give UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a letter tomorrow seeking full membership for his state: The normal, orthodox road map to UN membership comprises two steps: (1) a recommendation to the General Assembly by the Security Council (requiring nine affirmative votes and NO negative vote — “veto” — by one of the five permanent members) followed by (2) approval by the General Assembly (requiring a two-thirds majority of those voting — i.e., ignoring abstentions and no-shows). » Read more

Show, don’t tell ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star (Editorial) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am U.S. President Barack Obama couldn’t have said it any better when he told the United Nations General Assembly that there was “no shortcut” to peace in the Middle East. Obama was responding to the drive by the Palestinians to secure official U.N. recognition for their independent state. The U.S. president probably thought he was being statesmanlike and realistic by solemnly declaring that “statements and resolutions” at the U.N. will not bring such a state into existence. Obama is resoundingly and definitively correct when he says there is no short-cut to a durable peace. » Read more

The "Abu Mazen Spring" in the Security Council ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Randa Takieddine - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am Salam Fayyad has been the prime minister of the Palestinian government since 2009, and tasked with the seeming "mission impossible" of building all of the institutions needed to prepare for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Fayyad has succeeded, despite the huge difficulties resulting from Israeli occupation, settlement and other policies. » Read more

Time is running out for Israel to salvage a two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Taufiq Rahim - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am In the fall of 2002, Prof Sari Nusseibeh, now the president of Al Quds University in Jerusalem, argued that Palestinians needed to adjust to practical realities on the ground, and should avoid living in the dream of a greater Palestine. It was a comment that went to the heart of the right of return for Palestinians to modern-day Israel, which continues to be a contentious point. » Read more

For love or money? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am It is easy to get the impression the GOP-led House of Representatives is trying to out-Likud the Likud. The reaction on Capitol Hill to Palestinian plans to seek UN membership may be more strident than that of the Israeli government. But it’s hard to tell because the Israelis are delivering a very mixed message. » Read more

Defending Obama’s pro-Israel credentials ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Robert Wexler - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am It is ironic that Republican presidential candidates Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, as well as numerous other Republican groups and individuals, have chosen this month to escalate their smear campaign against President Obama’s pro- Israel record. While President Obama has consistently acted to protect Israel’s safety and interests over his entire time in office, the events of this month in particular – both in the US and in the Middle East – serve as a sharp rebuttal to these partisan efforts to spread misrepresentations and falsities. » Read more

Palestine an Israeli interest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Frances Raday - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am The Israeli government has brought us to absurdity, using all its powers of diplomatic persuasion to preempt UN recognition of a Palestinian state, when it is in Israel’s strategic interest that Palestine should be recognized as a state. A march of folly has brought us to this point: the settlement policy of this and previous governments and Netanyahu’s failure to promote genuine negotiations with the moderate leadership of Abbas and Fayyad, to make concessions, which are in any case foregone conclusions, or to freeze building in occupied areas. » Read more

The Palestinians are the new Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am Look at the Palestinians and look at us. Look at their leaders and recall ours. Not, of course, those we have today, but those we once had, the ones who established the state for us. The Palestinians are the new Jews and their leaders are amazingly similar to the former Zionist leaders. » Read more

Palestinians' U.N. gamble could backfire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Saree Makdisi - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am It goes without saying that Palestinians and Arabs are outraged by the idea that the United States is threatening to block recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations. What is less obvious, perhaps, is that some of the most vociferous critics of the Palestinian bid for upgraded U.N. recognition are Palestinians themselves. How could it be that advocates of Palestinian rights could be suspicious of, if not altogether opposed to, the U.N. gambit? Isn't the creation of an internationally recognized independent state the goal shared by all Palestinians? » Read more

Peace Now, or Never ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ehud Olmert - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am AS the United Nations General Assembly opens this year, I feel uneasy. An unnecessary diplomatic clash between Israel and the Palestinians is taking shape in New York, and it will be harmful to Israel and to the future of the Middle East. I know that things could and should have been different. I truly believe that a two-state solution is the only way to ensure a more stable Middle East and to grant Israel the security and well-being it desires. As tensions grow, I cannot but feel that we in the region are on the verge of missing an opportunity — one that we cannot afford to miss. » Read more