September 28th

Palestinians finally shed victimhood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - September 28, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian request last Friday for United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state in the land occupied by Israel in 1967 created quite a diplomatic stir. This came after weeks of anticipation and guessing whether the Palestinian leadership would ask the Security Council for full U.N. membership, or take the safer route of asking the General Assembly for non-member observer state status. » Read more

Israel's cabinet fails to reach consensus on Quartet plan for talks with Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson, Avi Issacharoff, Jonathan Lis, Natasha Mozgovaya, Shlomo Shamir - (Analysis) September 28, 2011 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the eight senior cabinet members were unable to reach an agreement regarding the Quartet's initiative for renewed talks between Israel and the Palestinians, despite prolonged discussions lasting until 2:00 A.M. on Wednesday. Netanyahu was expected to support the Quartet's proposal; however, due to a lack of consensus with the senior cabinet members, no decision was reached. » Read more

Op-Ed: Jewish vote in play for 2012 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Lawrence Grossman - September 26, 2011 - 12:00am NEW YORK (JTA) -- Will the Jewish vote, normally overwhelmingly Democratic, be up for grabs in 2012? That question became a subject of intense debate when a Republican was elected recently to the House of Representatives from New York’s 9th Congressional District for the first time in 90 years. The district, which encompasses parts of Brooklyn and Queens and is about one-third Jewish, had been predictably Democratic and liberal. But in the blink of an eye it gave the non-Jewish Republican candidate an 8-point victory over the Democrat, an Orthodox Jew. » Read more

Palestinians look for modifying Paris agreement signed with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Emad Drimly, Osama Radi - (Analysis) September 28, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian officials and analysts said Tuesday that substantial modifications of Paris agreement, signed in 1994 and aimed at coordinating the economical ties with Israel, would be essential to strengthen the characteristics of the Palestinian state. Mohamed Ishteya, director general of the Palestinian Economical Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDR), said the Paris agreement depended on the basis of free movement of trade, workers and goods in both directions. » Read more

Rhetoric vs. reality: ‘Lawfare’ and the PA statehood bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Josh Mintz - September 27, 2011 - 12:00am In February 2010, Avichai Mandebilt, the IDF’s chief military advocate-general was quoted in a diplomatic cable as saying that a successful Palestinian Authority attempt to take Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes would be considered an act of war by the IDF. » Read more

Palestinian prisoners to start hunger strike against worsening condition in Israeli jails ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Mu Xuequan - (Analysis) September 28, 2011 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Palestinians jailed in Israeli prisons are going to start a hunger strike Wednesday to protest against what they call "an escalating series of punitive measures by the Israel Prison Service (IPS)." Beginning this week, the prisoners will go on a hunger strike every Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, together with other forms of disobedience, including refusal to wear prison uniforms or cooperate with any other IPS demands, according to a press release from Addameer, a non-governmental organization working to promote Palestinian prisoners' rights. » Read more

PA: Nigeria to support Palestine statehood bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) September 28, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Nigeria will vote in favor of the application for full UN membership in the Security Council, foreign minister Riyad Malki said Tuesday after meeting with his Nigerian counterpart. Olugbenga Ashiru stressed Nigeria’s support for the application for a state on the 1967 borders as well as his hopes for a negotiated settlement to end the conflict, the official Palestinian Authority news agency said. » Read more

Savir's Corner: Alone together ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Uri Savir - September 27, 2011 - 12:00am An Indian poet once wrote: “I am alone, you are alone, let’s be alone together.” This phrase admirably sums up the current positions of Israel and Palestine. Israel’s solitude is glaringly obvious to everyone in the world, except possibly Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Approximately 130 of 193 UN members support a Palestinian bid for statehood. There is a universal consensus for the 1967 lines and against settlements. The United States is a friend and ally, but disagrees with our policies and is irritated to have been forced into isolation by us. » Read more

U.S. hopes to not use veto to aid Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Ben Birnbaum - (Analysis) September 27, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinians have yet to lock down a nine-vote majority in the U.N. Security Council for their statehood bid, raising U.S. hopes that it could be spared the embarrassment of using its veto power in defense of an increasingly isolated Israel. Amid indications that Colombia and the Security Council’s four EU member states will abstain from any vote, attention has focused on Nigeria, Gabon and Bosnia, which have offered few signals about how they will vote. » Read more

Netanyahu's messianism could launch attack on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sefi Rachlevsky - September 27, 2011 - 12:00am Benjamin Netanyahu promised to tell the truth at the United Nations, and the truth was indeed revealed. The prime minister chose in this speech to quote reverently from his meetings with one person only: the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who viewed himself as the messiah. » Read more