September 21st

Palestinians Back Statehood Bid With West Bank Rallies as Israel Resists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg by Bili Varner - September 21, 2011 - 12:00am Tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied in Ramallah’s Yasser Arafat Square and other cities across the West Bank to support their campaign for statehood at the United Nations. The festive crowds waved Palestinian flags and chanted independence slogans as speakers pledged backing for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas two days before he speaks at the UN General Assembly and is expected to ask for membership. A masked youth set fire to a U.S. flag after the speeches and was detained by police. » Read more

Palestine between fact and fiction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) September 20, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ announcement that he intends to seek full United Nations membership from the Security Council raises a wide range of interesting, and in some ways alarming, scenarios for the coming weeks. However, the move is unlikely to ultimately bring Palestinians any closer to actual independence. » Read more

Israel May Hold Palestinian Taxes on UN Vote Move, Steinitz Says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from SFGate by Flavia Krause-Jackson - September 20, 2011 - 12:00am Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Israel may withhold as much as 40 percent of Palestinians' financial revenue should they persist in pushing for a vote on statehood at the United Nations, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said. "It will be very difficult for us to continue to collaborate with a hostile Palestinian entity," Steinitz, 53, said in an interview yesterday at Bloomberg's headquarters in New York. "Maybe we will tell the Palestinians 'Okay, collect your own tax. Why should we do it for you?'" » Read more

The votes the Palestinians (and the Israelis) really need ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by David Rothkopf - (Blog) September 21, 2011 - 12:00am As H.L. Mencken might have observed, no one ever went broke underestimating the abilities of the current Israeli or Palestinian leadership. But in the competition for the region's top cluelessness prize, one has to give Bibi Netanyahu the edge. After all, he has done the near impossible and edged out Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more

The U.S. and Israeli stranglehold ends ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) September 21, 2011 - 12:00am In the past week in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington my discussions on Mideast issues with a wide range of knowledgeable people confirm the view I have held for some time now: official American attitudes to the Middle East, especially on the Arab-Israeli conflict, are characterized by deep perplexity, contradiction and disarray. No wonder the region is in the midst of a historic transition that has radically shifted the center of gravity of political action and diplomatic control away from American-Israeli dominance, toward a greater role for Arab public opinion. » Read more

Abbas to meet Obama on sidelines of UN summit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 21, 2011 - 12:00am NEW YORK (Reuters) -- US President Barack Obama will hold talks with President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at 6 p.m. Wednesday, White House official Ben Rhodes said Tuesday. Abbas is also willing to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he told Fox News Monday. "I will meet any Israeli official any time," the president said. "But there is no use if there is nothing tangible." The Israeli news site Ynet reported Tuesday that Netanyahu was also willing to meet Abbas. » Read more

With 'all hell' breaking loose, is Abbas looking for an exit? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Tony Karon - (Opinion) September 21, 2011 - 12:00am When the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks of being under "unbearable pressure" from foreign partners, that can be a prelude to retreat. That was the phrase he used a year ago to explain why he'd joined a new round of talks with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against his own better judgement. Those talks, demanded by the Obama administration, went nowhere. » Read more

Palestinian statehood bid: Why Hamas has stayed on sidelines ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ahmed al-Dabba - September 20, 2011 - 12:00am As the Palestinian bid for statehood comes to a head this week at the United Nations, Hamas remains split on whether to support the controversial move. The Islamist movement has long sought a Palestinian state, and its backing would be crucial for any such state to function. But amid a four-year rift with the Palestinian Authority (PA) led by Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas appears to be hedging its bets. A failure for Mr. Abbas could pave the way for Hamas to expand its influence in the West Bank, where it has long been suppressed by Israeli and PA security forces. » Read more

A UN showdown the Palestinians can't afford to lose ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Claude Salhani - (Opinion) September 21, 2011 - 12:00am The Middle East is going to war again this week - thankfully this time it's only a public relations war as Israelis and Palestinians take their case and their cause before the UN General Assembly. The outcome of this new escalation in the 62-year conflict, however, could lead to a new round of violence as bloody as any of the military conflicts of Arabs and Israelis in the past. » Read more

Thousands rally in Ramallah to back Palestinian statehood bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - September 21, 2011 - 12:00am Thousands of Palestinians flocked to Yasser Arafat Square in central Ramallah on Wednesday for a rally in support of the Palestinian bid for full United Nations membership. The square was dominated by a huge sign with the words "UN 194" on it, in reference to the Palestinian attempt to become the 194th member state of the international body. The sign was flanked by portraits of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, and his successor Mahmoud Abbas, who will on Friday formally submit the Palestinian request to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. » Read more