September 12th

News Analysis: Hamas leaders oppose UN bid, official position still undecided ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Saud Abu Ramadan - September 9, 2011 - 12:00am GAZA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- As the countdown has started for submitting a request to the United Nations to demand full membership for the state of Palestine later this month, leaders of the Islamic Hamas movement said they are against the bid, but the movement's official position is still undecided. In a previous interview with Xinhua on Wednesday, Yousef Rezqah, an aide to the deposed premier of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip said his movement opposes the attitude to approach the UN for recognition, "because Hamas believes that rights are grabbed and not begged." » Read more

Israel needs to adapt to new regional realities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) September 12, 2011 - 12:00am In a fast changing Arab world, Israel is yet to comprehend that it can no longer pursue a self-serving agenda of bullying neighbours, denying Palestinians their national rights and taking Washington’s blind support for granted. The Arab Spring signifies a historical milestone in the region’s political evolution, with far reaching effects on the future. » Read more

Diplomatic disasters incline Israel towards belligerence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Joseph Dana - (Opinion) September 12, 2011 - 12:00am During his press conference on Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared developments in the Middle East to the events of the First World War. He was speaking just hours after the dramatic removal of Israeli embassy staff in Cairo following riots by Egyptian protesters. » Read more

In Seeking Statehood, Palestinians Stir Concern ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - September 10, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Less than two weeks before Palestinians plan to defy the Obama administration by requesting membership and statehood recognition at the United Nations, there is a growing fear that the Arab-Israeli conflict is entering an explosive new phase. A Palestinian decision to shift its statehood quest toward international legal and political pressure on Israel, combined with Israeli fear and truculence at a time of regional upheaval, has many predicting disaster, especially after the storming of Israel’s Cairo embassy and the expulsion of its ambassador from Turkey. » Read more

Cairo shows Israel rallying extremism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) September 11, 2011 - 12:00am Petrol bombs and stones were met with tear gas and armoured cars on Friday night. Street riots have become familiar scenes in Cairo since January 25. This time it is Israel, not the old regime, that is the focus of the rage, but the threat to Egypt's stability is the same. » Read more

Obama and Abbas: From Speed Dial to Not Talking ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - September 9, 2011 - 12:00am WASHINGTON — Among the very first foreign leaders President Obama called after entering the Oval Office on Jan. 21, 2009, was the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. The last time the two men spoke was in February, when Mr. Obama failed, in an awkward, 55-minute phone conversation, to persuade Mr. Abbas not to go to the United Nations to condemn Israel for building Jewish settlements. » Read more

Editorial: Keep the peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) September 11, 2011 - 12:00am Shortly after thousands of incensed demonstrators forced their way into the Israeli Embassy in Cairo over the weekend, both Egypt and Israel issued statements reaffirming their commitments to the 1979 peace treaty, the first to be signed between an Arab country and Israel. » Read more

Cash crisis risks Palestinian state building-W.Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet by Tom Perry - September 11, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Progress made by the Palestinians in building institutions for statehood could be undermined by a fiscal crisis caused by a shortfall in foreign aid, the World Bank said on Monday. In a report released just a week before the Palestinian leadership goes to the United Nations to press its claim for statehood, the World Bank said Israeli restrictions on the Palestinian economy must be lifted to allow sustained reform. » Read more

Time for Israel to put out the fire with Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from (Editorial) September 12, 2011 - 12:00am The storming of Israel's embassy in Cairo is the climax of the public protest in Egypt against Israeli policy, especially against the killing of Egyptian soldiers during Israel's response to the terror attack near Eilat last month. It's natural for the events to raise deep concerns about the future of the peace agreement between the two countries. » Read more

Reports See Fiscal Woes Undermining Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - September 11, 2011 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — With the Palestinian Authority seeking United Nations membership and statehood recognition this month, two new reports say Palestinian public institutions are gaining traction, but there is trouble on the economic front — growth has slowed amid a fiscal crisis. In a report to be delivered next week, the World Bank says that while Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has made substantial progress in building strong state institutions, “the onset of an acute fiscal crisis, accompanied by declining economic growth,” may undermine those achievements. » Read more