Israel and America are on the wrong side of history
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Gareth Evans - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

Shortly before Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination by a right-wing Jewish extremist in November 1995, I met him in Tel Aviv. I was visiting Israel as Australia's foreign minister to argue the case for rapid implementation of the Oslo peace accords - all the way through to negotiated acceptance of Palestinian statehood. I concluded my pitch by saying, with perhaps a little more cheek than was appropriate, "But of course I'm preaching to the converted." Mr Rabin's response is etched in my memory.

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Peace Now, or Never
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ehud Olmert - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

AS the United Nations General Assembly opens this year, I feel uneasy. An unnecessary diplomatic clash between Israel and the Palestinians is taking shape in New York, and it will be harmful to Israel and to the future of the Middle East. I know that things could and should have been different. I truly believe that a two-state solution is the only way to ensure a more stable Middle East and to grant Israel the security and well-being it desires. As tensions grow, I cannot but feel that we in the region are on the verge of missing an opportunity — one that we cannot afford to miss.

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Palestinians' U.N. gamble could backfire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Saree Makdisi - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

It goes without saying that Palestinians and Arabs are outraged by the idea that the United States is threatening to block recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations. What is less obvious, perhaps, is that some of the most vociferous critics of the Palestinian bid for upgraded U.N. recognition are Palestinians themselves. How could it be that advocates of Palestinian rights could be suspicious of, if not altogether opposed to, the U.N. gambit? Isn't the creation of an internationally recognized independent state the goal shared by all Palestinians?

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The Palestinians are the new Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

Look at the Palestinians and look at us. Look at their leaders and recall ours. Not, of course, those we have today, but those we once had, the ones who established the state for us. The Palestinians are the new Jews and their leaders are amazingly similar to the former Zionist leaders.

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Palestine an Israeli interest
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Frances Raday - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israeli government has brought us to absurdity, using all its powers of diplomatic persuasion to preempt UN recognition of a Palestinian state, when it is in Israel’s strategic interest that Palestine should be recognized as a state. A march of folly has brought us to this point: the settlement policy of this and previous governments and Netanyahu’s failure to promote genuine negotiations with the moderate leadership of Abbas and Fayyad, to make concessions, which are in any case foregone conclusions, or to freeze building in occupied areas.

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Defending Obama’s pro-Israel credentials
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Robert Wexler - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

It is ironic that Republican presidential candidates Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, as well as numerous other Republican groups and individuals, have chosen this month to escalate their smear campaign against President Obama’s pro- Israel record. While President Obama has consistently acted to protect Israel’s safety and interests over his entire time in office, the events of this month in particular – both in the US and in the Middle East – serve as a sharp rebuttal to these partisan efforts to spread misrepresentations and falsities.

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Abbas stands to gain from UN gambit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Karin Laub - (Analysis) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK — The drama over the Palestinians' bid for U.N. recognition is still unfolding, but President Mahmoud Abbas appears to have won new respect at home for standing up to the United States and moving their decades-long quest for statehood back to the center of the world stage. Recognition of Palestine — even in a possible watered-down form, since full U.N. membership is blocked by a certain U.S. veto — won't bring the Palestinians true independence anytime soon. It might not even be enough to improve their hoped-for leverage in future border talks with Israel.

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For love or money?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

It is easy to get the impression the GOP-led House of Representatives is trying to out-Likud the Likud. The reaction on Capitol Hill to Palestinian plans to seek UN membership may be more strident than that of the Israeli government. But it’s hard to tell because the Israelis are delivering a very mixed message.

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Time is running out for Israel to salvage a two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Taufiq Rahim - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

In the fall of 2002, Prof Sari Nusseibeh, now the president of Al Quds University in Jerusalem, argued that Palestinians needed to adjust to practical realities on the ground, and should avoid living in the dream of a greater Palestine. It was a comment that went to the heart of the right of return for Palestinians to modern-day Israel, which continues to be a contentious point.

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PLO to give UN council time to mull bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian leadership -- despite firm US and Israeli opposition -- will give the UN Security Council "some time" to study their application for full membership in the United Nations, a senior Palestinian official said on Wednesday. He also said the Palestinian delegation would politely reject US President Barack Obama's demand in his UN General Assembly speech on Wednesday that the Palestinians drop their bid for membership in the United Nations, a plan that is doomed to failure if Washington keeps its promise to veto it.

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