September 27th

Palestinians’ Security Council Application Goes to a Committee
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Neil MacFarquhar - September 26, 2011 - 12:00am

The Security Council decided to meet on Wednesday morning to refer the Palestinian membership application to the Council’s membership committee. All 15 Council members have a representative on the committee. Given the sensitivity and interest of the issue, it will be heavy with ambassadors this time around, diplomats said. Even as the review is proceeding, both the United States and the Palestinians have been lobbying over the eventual vote in the Council, which is still weeks if not months away.

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September 26th

After Palestinian Statehood Bid, Where Do Mideast Talks Stand?
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In PBS - September 23, 2011 - 12:00am

RAY SUAREZ: Now two assessments of the speeches and what's next from Ghaith Al-Omari, a former adviser to President Abbas, now executive director of the American Task Force on Palestine, and David Makovsky, director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former executive editor of The Jerusalem Post. Well, Ghaith, earlier this week, the Obama administration tried to convince Mahmoud Abbas not to go ahead with the bid. Obviously, they didn't succeed. But why now and why this?

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Commentary: Peace negotiations best for Mideast
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Detroit News - September 26, 2011 - 12:00am

The tailwind of the Arab Spring appears to be propelling the Palestinians toward their own political revolution. On Friday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas presented a resolution requesting the admission of an independent state of Palestine to the United Nations. Many have explored the wisdom of a Palestinian Unilateral Declaration of Independence, a diplomatic end-run that allows them to circumvent the negotiating table. If this is indeed the tactic chosen, there is one thing that must be made clear: both sides will suffer for this decision.

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NEWS: Pres. Abbas and PM Netanyahu appeared to strengthen their domestic political standings. Abbas is accorded a hero's welcome in Ramallah. A new proposal from the Quartet, which is divided over the issue of Israel as a “Jewish state,” gets a mixed response. Israeli officials are considering their options in responding to the Palestinian UN initiative. Tensions are growing in the occupied West Bank. Israel and the Palestinians are lobbying for votes in the Security Council. Pres. Peres says Abbas is the best Palestinian leader Israel has ever dealt with. Israel's finance minister again threatens to withhold Palestinian tax revenues. A new survey suggests one third of Jewish Israelis don't consider Palestinian citizens of Israel to be Israelis.Even Israel is trying to restrain members of Congress from rushing to "punish" the Palestinians. The Israeli military says Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation remains strong. COMMENTARY: The CSM says Pres. Obama must rebuild his Middle East peace strategy. Akiva Eldar says Netanyahu's UN address was a campaign speech. Carlo Strenger says it's now up to Europe to save the two-state solution. Orly Azoulay says Netanyahu won but Israel lost at the UN. Susan Hattis Rolef says Israel needs a better plan than national suicide. Tariq Alhomayed says Obama's UN speech was diplomatically “bankrupt.” Manal Alafrangi says US pressure on the Palestinians will never end. Sharon Lipton says ultimately peace has to be negotiated. Rami Khouri says September 2011 will prove a turning point in the behavior of all parties. Barak Ravid says Abbas completely outshone Netanyahu at the UN.

Congress Moves To Punish Palestinians, But Even Israel Objects
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Jewish Daily Forward - September 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Washington — A congressional drive to punish the Palestinian Authority for its statehood bid by cutting American aid is being greeted with enthusiasm by lawmakers of both parties. But the White House is giving the move a cold shoulder, and even Israel itself and its strongest supporters have serious reservations. The legislation being discussed in Congress would cut all or part of the nearly $600 million annual aid package if Palestinians move ahead with their plan to seek statehood at the United Nations.

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Netanyahu, Abbas Emerge Unscathed at UN
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Bloomberg - September 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas emerged from their showdown at the United Nations buttressed domestically though no closer to peace talks.

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UN bid: Israel's political tsunami has arrived
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Barak Ravid - (Opinion) September 25, 2011 - 12:00am

Reactions to Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu’s addresses to the UN are clear illustrations of Palestine president’s ascent to political rock star status and Israeli prime minister’s increasing international isolation. Half an hour before Abbas went up to the podium at the UN General Assembly, Salva Kiir, president of the world’s youngest country, South Sudan, was giving his own speech. As he went on, a slow buzz began to spread throughout the hall.

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Israel-America is our new South Africa
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) September 24, 2011 - 12:00am

It remains to be seen what actually changes on the ground in the months ahead following the Palestinian initiative to ask the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state in the 1967 Israeli-occupied territories as a U.N. member or observer state. The move could be a substantive gain for the Palestinian people, merely a symbolic victory, or a measurable setback if the United States and Israel translate their vindictive rhetoric into hard policies. While we wait for the impact of the U.N.

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IDF-Palestinian coordination remains effective, despite heightened tensions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Tomer Zarchin - September 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Security coordination between the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian security forces has proven its effectiveness in the face of heightened tensions over the Palestinian Authority's application for membership at the United Nations last week. Large-scale demonstrations in PA-controlled towns were kept from spilling over into other areas of the territories that are controlled by Israel.

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Congress Moves To Punish Palestinians, But Even Israel Objects
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

Washington — A congressional drive to punish the Palestinian Authority for its statehood bid by cutting American aid is being greeted with enthusiasm by lawmakers of both parties. But the White House is giving the move a cold shoulder, and even Israel itself and its strongest supporters have serious reservations. The legislation being discussed in Congress would cut all or part of the nearly $600 million annual aid package if Palestinians move ahead with their plan to seek statehood at the United Nations.

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American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017