Who's Afraid Of The ICC? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Mark Leon Goldberg - (Opinion) November 28, 2012 - 1:00am Tomorrow, the United Nations General Assembly will vote overwhelmingly to upgrade Palestine’s status from “Permanent Observer Entity” to “Non-Member State Permanent Observer.” This seemingly banal change in nomenclature may have profound consequences in the West Bank and Israel, but it will not make much of a noticeable difference at the U.N. itself.  » Read more

Pro-Israel Strategy Faces Campus Setbacks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Seth Berkman - November 29, 2012 - 1:00am When the student government legislature at the University of California, Irvine voted unanimously for an anti-Israel divestment measure recently, the vote was not just a setback to the pro-Israel cause — it appeared to throw into question a broad new approach that some pro-Israel advocates have been promoting to move discourse on Israel, as they put it, “beyond the conflict.” » Read more

Executed Gaza 'collaborators' were in custody before war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 29, 2012 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Seven Palestinians who were accused of spying for Israel and publicly executed during the latest assault on Gaza were already in jail when the war started, and several had been held for more than a year. Masked gunmen shot the alleged collaborators in two public attacks at the height of Israel's eight-day bombardment of Gaza, killing one person on Nov. 16 and another six people on Nov. 20. » Read more

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