Palestinians could pursue war crimes charges without full statehood: ICC prosecutor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Star
by Olivia Ward - September 29, 2011 - 12:00am

In the fierce debate over the Palestinian bid for UN membership, one unseen presence has cast a long shadow. It’s that of Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court — the body Israel has long feared would take up Palestinian allegations of war crimes if its statehood bid is successful. A few blocks away from the UN this week, the man at the centre of the controversy said if Palestine becomes a member state, or a lower-ranked non-member observer state, it could be eligible to pursue claims against Israel.

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U.S.: Republican plan would cut aid to Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
(Blog) September 29, 2011 - 12:00am

U.S. House Republican leaders signaled this week that they are serious about cutting off aid to the Palestinian Authority if its leaders continue their quest for U.N. recognition as a sovereign state. The Republican leaders of the House Appropriations Committee this week released a preliminary 2012 spending plan that would prohibit aid to the Palestinian Authority unless the State Department certifies that the Palestinians aren’t seeking to gain full membership in the United Nations.

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Obama Sold Israel Bunker-Buster Bombs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Eli Lake - September 29, 2011 - 12:00am

While publicly pressuring Israel to make deeper concessions to the Palestinians, President Obama has secretly authorized significant new aid to the Israeli military that includes the sale of 55 deep-penetrating bombs known as bunker busters, Newsweek has learned.

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The Palestinian Statehood Bid - What Comes Next?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Hussein Ibish, Saliba Sarsar - (Opinion) September 29, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu all played mainly to their domestic political bases at the United Nations General Assembly meeting last week. Despite the drama, nothing in the basic discourse has changed, no party shifted its bottom-line positions, and none of it brought us any closer to peace or improved the situation on the ground.

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There was no political tsunami for Israel after all
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Moshe Arens - (Opinion) September 29, 2011 - 12:00am

The month of September is almost gone and Israel does not lie devastated like north-eastern Japan after the tsunami that hit that region in the wake of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake last March. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas submitted an application to the United Nations that Palestine be recognized as a state and admitted to the UN. Hamas, as was expected, objected to this move, and President Barack Obama said what any sensible person should have known - that bypassing direct negotiations by applying to the UN was not going to advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

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Israel Hands Ancient Site to Ideologues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Sarah Kreimer - (Opinion) September 29, 2011 - 12:00am

Imagine stepping off the ferry to find that the Statue of Liberty monument is not run by the U.S. National Park Service, but that an evangelical Christian group has a special concession to operate this historic site. Also imagine that the film shown at the Ellis Island museum no longer emphasizes America’s multi-cultural history of immigration, but instead focuses almost exclusively on the contribution of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. Sounds absurd?

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Israeli stalling hints at real agenda
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) September 29, 2011 - 12:00am

On Wednesday, the Israeli cabinet rejected a formula proposed by the Quartet of mediators - the US, UN, EU, and Russia - in a bid to bring Israelis and Palestinian back to the negotiating table. This followed by a day Israel's latest step toward building 1,100 more homes in the Gilo district of East Jerusalem. In grand understatement, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, labelled the settlement expansion "counterproductive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties."

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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.

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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.

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Asharq Al-Awsat talks to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Ali El-saleh - (Interview) September 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas looked very pleased hours after he delivered his historic speech at the United Nations General Assembly [UNGA] and submitted the application requesting full membership for the state of Palestine. This pleasure and happiness are justified. President Abbas disappointed those that cast doubts on his seriousness of going to the United Nations prior to presenting the membership allocation to UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon and delivering his speech.

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