ANALYSIS-EU struggles to win influence in Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Justyna Pawlak - (Analysis) August 5, 2011 - 12:00am BRUSSELS, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The European Union is working to build its credentials as a Middle East power broker but its efforts are complicated by internal divisions over Palestinian plans to seek UN recognition of a Palestinian state. The paralysis in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has encouraged EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to try to play more of a leading role, in the absence of any initiative by Washington. » Read more

UN vote piles more pressure on Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) August 5, 2011 - 12:00am Washington's political theatre in May featured high-stakes betrayal. In his keynote Middle East speech, President Barack Obama called for peace talks between Israelis and Arabs based on modified 1967 borders. A few days later, on the floor of the American Congress, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to deal those borders a death blow, saying they would be indefensible. Nearly two months later, Mr Netanyahu has changed his tune. In recent days, the Israeli administration has made noises about renewing negotiations with the Palestinian Authority premised on the 1967 borders. » Read more

Boycott Ban ATFP World Press Roundup Article from In These Times by Cole Stangler - (Opinion) August 4, 2011 - 12:00am On July 11, the Israeli Knesset passed a widely condemned law that bars public support for boycotting Israel and the occupied territories — in effect, making free speech a civil crime. Under the legislation, individuals and organizations that call for or engage in an economic, cultural, or academic boycott of individuals or groups because of their ties with Israel or the occupied territories can be sued in civil court and forced to pay damages. » Read more

Palestinians will soon come full circle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Sam Bahour - (Opinion) August 4, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian national liberation movement has reached its end. As the Palestinian leadership – if there is such a legitimate body today – prepares to bring the issue of statehood to the UN this September, the weeks and months ahead will witness the last desperate attempt to get the international community to assume their responsibilities and ensure that a Palestinian state becomes a reality in the occupied territories. » Read more

Israel's Beef With Honduras: Who Stabbed Who? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Honduras Weekly by Roberto Quesada - (Opinion) August 4, 2011 - 12:00am Palestine will undoubtedly again be the center of attention at the United Nations' upcoming General Assembly, as in the days when Yasser Arafat would arrive in New York City to make the case for the Palestinian struggle before that international body. Already, you can start to feel a climate of "arm twisting" taking hold, especially against the poorer and weaker member nations. » Read more

Could Arab staying power ultimately defeat Zionism? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by David Hearst - (Opinion) August 5, 2011 - 12:00am There is an Arabic word you come across a lot when Palestinians talk about their future. Sumud means steadfastness, and it has turned into a strategy: when the imbalance of power is so pronounced, the most important thing to do is to stay put. » Read more

Examining the Palestinians’ Unilateral Bid for Statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Maen Areikat, Danny Ayalon, Alan Elsner, Lara Friedman, Shlomo Gazit, David Harris, Hussein Ibish, Gabriela Shalev - (Opinion) August 5, 2011 - 12:00am Experts Weigh In on Implications of September Move Give Them A Reason Not To Do It By Hussein Ibish The wisdom of the various plans for Palestinians to approach the United Nations in September with a statehood-oriented diplomatic initiative may be debated, but not the Palestinians’ right to make the approach. Israel was, in effect, created by the U.N. Partition Plan of 1947 and gained U.N. membership in 1949 without the agreement of Palestinians or any of its neighbors. » Read more

New U.S. envoy in Israel to clear obstacles for Obama’s second term ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) August 5, 2011 - 12:00am Dan Shapiro, the new American ambassador to Israel, submitted his credentials to President Shimon Peres on Wednesday. That same day, he submitted a declaration of support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: In an interview with Channel 2 television, he downplayed the lack of trust between Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama and the latter's rage and sense of insult over Netanyahu's appearance before Congress in May, treating their serial disputes as routine disagreements between friends. Shapiro noted that he was present at all the many meetings between Obama and Netanyahu. » Read more

Palestine's U.N. bid: Between history and hot air ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tom Perry - (Analysis) August 4, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug 4 (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Abbas' attempt to upgrade the Palestinians' status at the United Nations, despite U.S. and Israeli opposition, signals a bolder approach by a leader keen to forge a legacy after years of failed peace talks. But Palestinians are divided on the merits of the diplomatic offensive. In the West Bank, Abbas' Fatah movement bills it as a turning point in the Palestinian struggle, while in Gaza, a politician from rival Islamist Hamas dismissed it as hot air. » Read more

Tzipi Livni Praises Obama for Pressuring Netanyahu, Suggests U.S. Should Keep Up the Heat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Interview) August 5, 2011 - 12:00am Tzipi Livni, the leader of Israel's Kadima Party, the largest opposition party in the Knesset -- and the largest party in the entire Knesset, in fact -- sat down last month with James Bennet, the editor of The Atlantic (and a former Jerusalem bureau chief of The New York Times) and with Goldblog for an extended conversation about the tense relations between the Obama Administration and the Netanyahu government, and about Israel's sinking image. » Read more