November 29th

Israel Seizes 2 Gaza Boats Near New Offshore Limit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram, Jodi Rudoren - November 28, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA — Despite an Israeli concession to permit Gazans to fish up to six nautical miles from shore rather than three, Israeli forces detained a Palestinian fisherman and seized two boats as their crews tried to venture farther into the Mediterranean Sea. Hamas, the militant faction that controls Gaza, denounced the action as a threat to the week-old cease-fire agreement that ended eight days of cross-border violence. » Read more

State of Confusion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Ephraim Sneh - (Opinion) November 28, 2012 - 1:00am The Israel-Hamas war has refocused international attention on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and increased the stakes surrounding U.S. President Barack Obama's handling of the Palestinian bid for recognition at the United Nations as a non-member state. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas intends to submit that bid on November 29th -- the 65th anniversary of the U.N. » Read more

Palestinians' UN bid confirms Israel's isolation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) November 29, 2012 - 1:00am   Today in New York, the United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to vote on upgrading the status of Palestine at the international body. The numbers look good and short of an unexpected upset, Palestinians will probably be granted "observer" status at the world body, similar to the Vatican. » Read more

Hamas Chief Revives Talk of Reuniting With P.L.O. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Anne Barnard - November 28, 2012 - 1:00am BEIRUT, Lebanon — On the eve of the United Nations vote on whether to declare the Palestinian Authority a nonmember state, the leader of Hamas revived a long-percolating proposal for his militant party to join the Palestine Liberation Organization, the group that, with Israel, signed the Oslo Accord, which Hamas has long derided. » Read more

Why Jews Should Back Palestinian U.N. Bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) November 28, 2012 - 1:00am I rather doubt that more than a few of those whose knees have jerked in opposition to the planned request by the PLO that its status at the United Nations be upgraded have actually read the resolution. Instead, they rely on Israel’s bitter opposition and on America’s predictable opposition. » Read more

Who Stands Against Peace? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) November 29, 2012 - 1:00am The last days of November 2012 were an awkward time for Israel in the international arena. After years of presenting itself as the reasonable party in the conflict, saddled with a Palestinian negotiating partner that won’t negotiate, its ruling Likud party wound up a two-day Knesset primary vote on November 26 by choosing a slate of candidates dominated by hard-line rightists who oppose Israeli-Palestinian compromise and reject Palestinian statehood. » Read more

GOP senators introduce proposed penalties for enhanced Palestinian status ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) November 29, 2012 - 1:00am WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Republican U.S. senators introduced the first efforts to penalize the Palestinians and the United Nations should the body affirm enhanced Palestinian status. Language proposed this week as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would cut assistance to the Palestinians by 50 percent and U.S. fees to the United Nations by the same amount should the effort by the Palestinians to gain recognition as a non-member observer state succeed in the General Assembly. It would also cut by 20 percent U.S. aid to any country voting to approve. » Read more

Settlers: Annex Area C in response to PA's UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - November 29, 2012 - 1:00am Settlers and right-wing activists called on Israel to annex Area C and threatened to burn the Palestinian flag, in response to Palestinian plans to Thursday to ask the UN General Assembly to grant it the status of non-member state. Left-wing Israelis, in turn, planned to rally in Tel Aviv in support of the Palestinian move, which constitutes a de facto UN recognition of Palestinian statehood. Settlers argued that now was the moment to strengthen Israel’s hold on the West Bank, particularly since the Palestinian bid was an abrogation of the 1993 Oslo Accord. » Read more

Former Israeli PM Olmert Supports Palestine U.N. Bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Bernard Avishai - November 28, 2012 - 1:00am Tomorrow, Mahmoud Abbas stands before the U.N. General Assembly and presents a resolution to upgrade Palestine’s membership to the status of an “observer-state.” The Obama administration has signaled that it will oppose this resolution, as it vetoed a Security Council condemnation of settlements last year—putatively to emphasize the need for direct negotiations between the parties. » Read more

Rival Palestinian groups show support for UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - November 29, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM —Israel's leader, having failed to block the Palestinians from taking their quest for a state to the U.N., defiantly declared Thursday that they would have to back down from long-held positions if they ever hope to gain independence. Ahead of Thursday's vote, thousands of Palestinians from rival factions celebrated in the streets of the West Bank. In a departure from its previous opposition, the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip said they would not interfere with the U.N. bid, and its supporters joined some of the celebrations. » Read more