September 13th, 2011

Israel arrives at a tough diplomatic intersection ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - September 12, 2011 - 12:00am Israel is expected to exercise "maximum restraint" as it faces a trio of regional challenges that threaten to further deepen its isolation, already more acute than the Jewish state has seen in decades. Powered by The sharp deterioration in ties with key partners Egypt and Turkey in recent days could pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to shift its approach to regional challenges – most immediately, the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations next week. » Read more

In Israel, Cairo attack deepens sense of siege ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - September 11, 2011 - 12:00am After a week in which Israel’s diplomats were forced out of Turkey and Egypt, for years its regional allies, and facing a possible United Nations vote recognizing a Palestinian state, the country is experiencing a deepening sense of siege. Televised scenes of Egyptian protesters storming the Israeli Embassy in Cairo on Friday, and dramatic media accounts of the threat faced by six security men who were trapped for hours inside, summoned up for many Israelis nightmare scenarios of a lynch by an Arab mob. » Read more

Obama: Palestinian statehood vote at UN would be counterproductive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz September 13, 2011 - 12:00am U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday that if the Palestinians try to achieve statehood in the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. would oppose the proposal. "If this came to the Security Council we would object very strongly, precisely because we think it would be counterproductive. "We don't think that it would actually lead to the outcome that we want, which is a two-state solution," he told Spanish-language media in an interview. » Read more

September 12th

Egypt cracks down after Israeli Embassy attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Joel Greenberg - September 10, 2011 - 12:00am CAIRO — Israel scrambled its diplomatic staff out of Egypt early Saturday after protesters tore down a wall and broke into the Israeli Embassy. As thousands more protesters torched police vehicles and clashed with security forces, an Egyptian commando squad rescued six embassy guards trapped inside the building. Israeli officials who tracked events during the night described tense hours in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone with President Obama and the chief of Egyptian intelligence while monitoring events over a direct link to the besieged guards. » Read more

Israeli intelligence urges return to peace talks with Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - September 12, 2011 - 12:00am In recent weeks the Foreign Ministry, Military Intelligence, the Shin Bet security service and the Mossad have distributed a number of documents stating that a return to negotiations would tone down tensions and anger against Israel. The documents, issued ahead of the expected UN vote on a Palestinian state, also state that while changes in the Arab world could be a threat to Israel, they also represent opportunities for Israel to improve its diplomatic standing. "All the documents recommend progress vis-a-vis the Palestinians," a source close to Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. » Read more

Veto a State, Lose an Ally ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Turki al-Faisal - (Opinion) September 11, 2011 - 12:00am The United States must support the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations this month or risk losing the little credibility it has in the Arab world. If it does not, American influence will decline further, Israeli security will be undermined and Iran will be empowered, increasing the chances of another war in the region. » Read more

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Israel and Palestine after the UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Crisis Group (Editorial) September 12, 2011 - 12:00am In diplomatic lexicon, September 2011 is shorthand for a Palestinian statehood bid at the UN, ensuing Israeli and U.S. retaliation and, in fine, a train-wreck. There are legitimate fears about the fallout, but obsession with what will happen at the UN and the disproportionate energy invested in aborting it are getting in the way of clear thinking. This could well produce a cure more lethal than the ailment. » Read more

Abbas Will Go to U.N. General Assembly for Statehood Bid, Diplomats Say ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward September 11, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had informed the EU of his decision not to turn to the UN Security Council on September 20 to request that Palestine be accepted as a full member of the organization, senior diplomats told Haaretz. Abbas, who realizes that the United States will exercise its veto power at the Security Council, has instead decided to turn to the UN General Assembly, whose resolutions are less binding, in order to seek the support of the European Union member states in the vote. » Read more

Palestinians have the advantage at UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Adel Safty - (Opinion) September 12, 2011 - 12:00am In the Art of War, the oldest military treatise in the world, Chinese writer Sun Tzu states: “ All warfare is based on deception.” » Read more

E.U. Divided by 'Palestine' Bid at U.N. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Judy Dempsey - September 12, 2011 - 12:00am BERLIN — It is a rare moment of truth. After years of advocating a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Europeans will have to decide whether to support the Palestinian bid to become a member of the United Nations. Over the coming days, the Palestinian Authority will finalize the text of the resolution it will present this month to the United Nations. The Palestinians want their status upgraded from “observer” to full membership but might have to settle in the end for “nonmember state,” similar to the Vatican. » Read more