Jordan urges Abbas to rethink UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Jordan has appealed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and asked him to reconsider the PA's nearing bid for UN recognition, Saudi Arabia's al-Madinah newspaper reported on Tuesday. According to the report, Jordan views the move as dangerous and as one that may compromise the Palestinians' assertion of the right of return.

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Israel braces for Palestinian statehood bid at United Nations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel is preparing security forces as well as diplomatic and legal responses for a planned Palestinian bid this month for admission as a state to the United Nations, but officials say they do not expect a major eruption of unrest as a result of the move. Despite intensive Israeli diplomatic efforts to head off U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, a senior official involved in shaping the Israeli response said the government is resigned to the General Assembly endorsing the move later this month.

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Sarkozy wants united EU voice on Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday he wanted to see a united European Union voice on the issue of Palestinian statehood at next month's United Nations General Assembly and urged Washington to do more for peace. "The 27 countries of the European Union must express themselves with one voice," Sarkozy said in an opening speech to an annual conference of French ambassadors. "The role of the U.S. is uncontested and irreplaceable, but everybody sees that it is not enough. We have to widen the circle of negotiation, think of the role and pertinence of the quartet."

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War and peace: Egyptians consider post-uprising relations with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm
by Ali Abdel Mohsen - August 30, 2011 - 12:00am

Mohamed Abdel Razek Ali has been standing outside the Israeli Embassy for the past week. His clothes are torn, his hands are filthy, and he holds a couple of signs, too detailed and busy to make immediate sense to any passers-by. The message he is trying to get across, however, is all too clear: “Down with Field Marshal Tantawi!” Abdel Razek Ali demands as he takes his one-man protest off the sidewalk and into traffic.

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Calls to raise Israel-Egypt treaty troop limits
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Amy Teibel - August 29, 2011 - 12:00am

A deadly attack on Israel from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has sparked calls to raise the number of Egyptian troops allowed in the area under the historic peace treaty with Israel, to counter a surge in Islamist militant activity. But some in Israel, afraid the recent revolt in Egypt might lead to the collapse of the pact, are wary of altering it in any way. Israel says Palestinian militants crossed from Gaza into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, made their way along the Israel-Egypt border, crossed back into Israel, attacked Israeli vehicles and killed eight people on Aug. 18.

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Love thy neighboring enemy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Diab - (Opinion) August 29, 2011 - 12:00am

Last week’s coordinated terror attacks in the South were a tragedy, and my condolences go out to the bereaved families of the victims. Continued violence is not the answer to this conflict, and targeting civilians is a war crime – for good reason – regardless of who commits it or why. While Israel’s grief and anger are understandable, its predictable decision to respond to terror with military attacks is not, especially since, in this decades-old conflict, every ugly action is seen as a justified reaction to a perceived uglier precedent.

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Israel mulls ties with a changed Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - (Analysis) August 27, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — A deadly border incident this month that drew a threat by Egypt to recall its ambassador to Israel has starkly revealed the changed political terrain in the relationship between the two countries. Israeli officials who relied on former president Hosni Mubarak as a partner in upholding the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty are now contending with the newly assertive voice of public opinion in Egypt and its influence on that country’s leadership.

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Arab Spring spells uncertainty for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jeremy Bowen - August 27, 2011 - 12:00am

The extraordinary developments in the Middle East and North Africa this year have not been entirely welcomed by the authorities in Israel, who now have a range of new problems to add to some more familiar ones. My passports say it all. Like most foreign correspondents in the Middle East I have two - one for Israel, the other for Arab countries. That's because some Arab states will not let you in if you have an Israeli visa.

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September report to remain secret?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
August 25, 2011 - 12:00am

As the situation in the South escalates and the Palestinians prepare for their statehood bid in the United Nations next month, the Knesset has been busy arguing over a report criticizing Israel's readiness for this upcoming September. The report, initiated by the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC) Chairman Shaul Mofaz (Kadima), is set to be publicized on Sunday. However coalition members have been hard at work to try and prevent its publication.

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EU diplomat says aid to Palestinians in question
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Daniella Cheslow - August 25, 2011 - 12:00am

Europe's financial crisis is causing some European Union lawmakers to question whether the bloc can continue to deliver millions in aid to the Palestinians, an EU diplomat said Thursday. The EU is the largest single donor to the Palestinians, contributing about 500 million euros ($720 million) a year to build institutions for a future state and pay salaries. Under Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the Palestinians embarked in 2009 on a two-year state-building plan to be ready for independence by September.

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