September 16th

EU seeks limited upgrade of Palestinians' UN status ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet by Justyna Pawlak - (Analysis) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am BRUSSELS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - - The European Union hopes to persuade Palestinian leaders to drop plans for full United Nations membership this month in return for a nuanced upgrading of their U.N. observer status, EU diplomats said on Thursday. The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, went to the Middle East this week to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians with the aim of reviving peace talks and averting a Palestinian statehood bid at the U.N. General Assembly, which begins its annual gathering on Sept. 21. » Read more

"Progress" in Euro-diplomacy for limited UN upgrade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- European diplomats trying to persuade Palestinian leaders to seek an upgrade of their UN status without full membership have had "meaningful progress," Israeli media said. Hebrew-daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoted a senior Israeli source on Thursday saying Palestinians' acceptance of this proposal will improve their UN standing, while allowing Israel to coexist with the new status. » Read more

Avoiding an Israeli-Palestinian 'Train Wreck' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Council On Foreign Relations by Bernard Gwertzman - (Interview) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am Though Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to seek Palestinian statehood status at the UN General Assembly meeting next week, efforts are underway by the United States, Israel, and the Palestinians to avoid a major collision on the issue, says Ziad J. Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine. » Read more

Israelis, Palestinians headed toward U.N. showdown ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - (Analysis) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am Reporting from Ramallah, West Bank— Rebuffing international pressure to soften their positions and return to the negotiating table, Israelis and Palestinians announced separately Thursday that they were moving forward with an expected diplomatic battle next week at the United Nations. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will address the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 23, after which he will submit a formal application to admit Palestine into the international body as a state, according to his foreign minister, Riad Malki. » Read more

Palestinians Resist Appeals to Halt U.N. Statehood Bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Senior American and European diplomats tried without success on Thursday to persuade the Palestinian leaders to skip or modify their planned United Nations membership bid, officials involved said. Riad Malki, the Palestinian foreign minister, told foreign journalists in Ramallah that the Palestinians would continue to listen to suggestions but that barring something very persuasive, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority would submit a full membership application to the United Nations Security Council next Friday. » Read more

Israel calls for continuing aid for Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet by Susan Cornwell - (Analysis) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Israel is urging the international community to continue aid to the Palestinians just as U.S. lawmakers are contemplating an aid cutoff if the Palestinians press for statehood at the United Nations. An Israeli government website on Thursday carried a report saying the Palestinian Authority already faced economic and fiscal woes, in part due to a decline in donor aid. » Read more

September 15th

Can Israel Survive Without a Palestinian State? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times (Analysis) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am Introduction As delegates gather in New York for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly next week, the U.S. was seeking a last-minute compromise to delay a U.N. vote supporting Palestinian statehood. Turkey and Egypt have lent support to such a resolution, and American negotiators in the Middle East were in talks aimed at averting the U.N. vote. » Read more

The moment of truth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am About a week before the start of the annual meeting of the United Nations, during which Palestinians plan to submit an application for state membership, efforts are intensifying to either avoid the move entirely or influence it. » Read more

Will the US declare independence at UN? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by John V. Whitbeck - (Opinion) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am WHILE many questions relating to the State of Palestine's imminent application for UN membership are being raised and vigorously debated, one relevant question has not been. That question is how American national interests would be harmed if Palestine were to be admitted as the 194th member of the United Nations, as it clearly would be in the absence of an American veto. Perhaps the question is not being raised and debated because no potential adverse consequences — at least for the United States and the American people — can be envisioned and cited to justify a veto. » Read more

Arab world at a crossroads ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am As fall, the American term for autumn, approaches, seemingly slowly, two seasons after the launching of the Arab Spring noted for the unprecedented uprisings that have so far swept three Arab regimes — Tunisia, Egypt and Libya — the troubling question remains when will this Arab tsunami end since two additional autocratic regimes — Syria and Yemen — are still in the midst of bloody confrontations. » Read more