Why Australia should back creation of a Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Age
(Opinion) August 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Many leading Israelis support calls for the recognition of Palestine. Next month, the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations is expected to ask the General Assembly to recognise a Palestinian state. We believe Australia should support such a move.

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Preparing for the worst, hoping for the best
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - (Opinion) August 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Contrary to the near-hysteric reactions in Jerusalem, defense establishment doesn't believe the world will come to an end. Far from it. What will happen on September 21? Probably not that much. It will be the day after the Palestinian Authority unilaterally declares statehood at the United Nations General Assembly, but contrary to what one might be led to believe by the near-hysteric reactions in Jerusalem, the defense establishment does not believe that the world will come to an end. Far from it.

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Palestinians gather to call for Assad departure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Hundreds of Palestinians streamed into the streets of Ramallah on Sunday evening to demand Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad stand down. The mass demonstration in support of the Syrian people came hours after news broke of Syrian military shelling the port city of Latakia, killing 26. Human rights groups said Palestinians living in a refugee camp in the district of Ramel were among the dead.

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Heavy gunfire as Syrian tanks enter Homs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
August 14, 2011 - 12:00am

DAMASCUS — Syrian troops backed by tanks clamped down Monday on the flashpoint province of Homs, a day after gunboats joined an assault that killed more than 20 people in Latakia city, activists said. As the country's anti-regime uprising turned five months old, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said snipers shot dead an old man in the provincial town of Hula and reported another killing in Latakia. "The community of Hula is under siege ... The army is carrying out raids and arrests under the cover of heavy gunfire" in Homs province, said the Britain-based rights group.

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To help Israel, Jews must broaden the tent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
(Opinion) August 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Amid global events of the past few years that are changing the world -- the rising power of the BRICs economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China), the global economic crisis, the rise of social networks and, most recently, the popular uprisings in the Middle East -- Israel and the Jewish world are facing a uniquely difficult challenge with the ongoing assault on Israel’s right to exist. This year, the assault coincides with the Palestinian campaign to secure U.N. recognition of statehood.

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Palestinians to Seek UN Statehood Vote Next Month
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Ali Sawafta - August 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will submit an application for full U.N. membership at the General Assembly next month, his foreign minister said on Saturday, without specifying exactly when the request would be made. "I think that the president, when he gets to the United Nations and meets the secretary general, will present the application," Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said in a briefing in Ramallah.

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WEST BANK: Palestinians determined to get more recognition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - August 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority is doubling its efforts to get as many countries to recognize it before September, when it plans to officially ask the United Nations for recognition and membership. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Malki said on Saturday that “we have made very important breakthroughs, but we need to do more and build on what we have achieved so far.”

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Abbas, Peres held '4 secret meetings'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
August 13, 2011 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas revealed he held four secret meetings with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres in a bid to revive stalled peace talks, a Palestinian official said Saturday. He quoted Abbas as saying at a meeting of his Fatah party on Friday that: "I met Shimon Peres four times in Amman and London in an attempt to restart negotiations and the peace process on a correct foundation." The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had thwarted those efforts.

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Author challenges readers to look at another side of the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Gleaner
(Opinion) August 13, 2011 - 12:00am

We don't often hear about nonviolent resistance in the Middle East, but it happens much more often than we might think. Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta has written a book on the subject called Refusing to be Enemies - Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation. The hardcover came out in January 2010, but the paperback with an updated afterward arrived in North American stores sometime in March of this year. "It's based on interviews with over 100 Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent activists, and a few internationals, and also conference presentations," she says.

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Barak warns Israeli ministers: Sanctions could lead to the Palestinian Authority's collapse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - August 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his senior ministers on Wednesday to discuss how Israel plans to cope with Palestinian efforts to secure UN recognition of a Palestinian state in September. Several of the ministers urged preemptive sanctions against the Palestinian Authority in an effort to pressure PA President Mahmoud Abbas to back down, but Defense Minister Ehud Barak objected, warning that it could lead to the collapse of the PA.

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