Falling in Love With Dusty Treaties
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - (Analysis) January 20, 2012 - 1:00am

One of the more surprising twists in recent Middle East punditry is a sudden surge of interest among pro-Israel hard-liners in the fine points of international law. The topic isn’t usually popular with hawks; they tend to see it as an infringement on national sovereignty, employed mainly as a club for bludgeoning Israel. Seeing it raised in Israel’s defense is a novelty. It could be a good sign, if it gets Israel’s defenders and critics talking the same language for a change. But maybe I’m being too optimistic.

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Hillel Neuer: The UN must recognize that Gaza is no longer an occupied territory
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Post
by Hillel Neuer - (Opinion) January 5, 2012 - 1:00am

GENEVA — The UN’s continued labelling of the Gaza Strip as an “occupied” territory — even after a Hamas leader stated that it’s not — is no longer tenable. Mahmoud Zahhar, the co-founder of Hamas, confirmed that Gaza is not under Israeli occupation, in comments reported Tuesday by the Palestinian news agency Ma’an. Zahhar was casting doubt on whether Hamas would organize anti-Israel marches in Gaza, in conjunction with similar protests that the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority are organizing in the West Bank.

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The U.N. Should Accept Palestine as a Full Member State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate
by Katy Waldman - (Opinion) January 4, 2012 - 1:00am

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi is gentle and soft-spoken, as befits a Palestinian leader known for his commitment to nonviolence. Currently Barghouthi, a medical doctor, serves as the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party based in the West Bank that seeks to provide moderate Palestinians with an alternative to what many consider Fatah’s corruption and Hamas’ extremism. “Politics can drive you to wrong decisions and wrong feelings, sometimes,” he told me during our phone conversation last week.

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'PA won't 'back down' from UN statehood bid'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
December 2, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority "will not back down" from their efforts to become a member of the United Nations, even though the PA has acknowledged that they would not succeed were the Security Council to vote today, senior PA negotiator Saeb Erekat told Ma'an News Agency Thursday. Erekat said the PA would persist even if the request fails to pass in the Security Council, adding that the PA leadership knew from the outset that United States would use its veto on the initiative.

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The 29th of November
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Uri Savir - (Opinion) December 1, 2011 - 1:00am

November 29, 1947, was a watershed date in modern Jewish history. The family of nations, through the United Nations, decided in Resolution 181 to split Palestine, which was to be vacated by the British Mandate between an independent Jewish state and an independent Arab one. The Jewish state was thus to become the national homeland of the Jewish people. The Jewish side, through the Jewish Agency, accepted the UN resolution with joy and realism. The Arab side, through the Arab League, refused with grim shortsightedness.

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Failure to secure UNSC majority a temporary setback for the Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - (Analysis) November 11, 2011 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) Foreign Minister Riad al Malki has announced that after recognizing the difficult in gaining a majority in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for their statehood bid, an alternative route would now be pursued instead. PNA President Mahmoud Abbas in September formally submitted an application to the UN, asking the world body to upgrade their current status from an observer entity to full member.

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Palestinians' Abbas needs token UN win to save face
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Tom Perry - (Analysis) November 10, 2011 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Facing failure in his bid to win full United Nations membership for Palestine, President Mahmoud Abbas may be forced to seek a lesser upgrade of his nation's status in the world body to protect his credibility from attack by Hamas. Even going for "observer state" rank at the U.N. will likely expose the Palestinian Authority to more pressure from the United States and Israel, which have imposed financial sanctions in a bid to curb the Abbas administration's diplomatic campaign.

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Palestinian success at UN serves Israeli and US interests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ilan Baruch - (Opinion) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestine knows, Israel knows, the US knows, and the entire world knows what the end result of any attempt to end the conflict in the Middle East must be. Like so many others in Israel and Palestine, I, too, sat transfixed in front of the television screen as I listened to the speeches at the UN by US President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. All three of them addressed the representatives of the countries around the world but spoke to their peoples at home. And I was amazed.

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Palestinians aim to join U.N. bodies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Tom Perry - October 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The plan is likely to generate more criticism from the United States, which has pledged to veto a Palestinian request last month for full membership of the United Nations, if it comes to a vote in the Security Council. The Palestinians have been preparing their drive for membership of the U.N. agencies over the past two years as part of a plan to get ready for statehood, said Omar Awadallah, who heads the U.N. department at the foreign ministry.

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Hamas popularity hits a new low after opposing UN statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Kristen Chick - October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Of the many complaints in Gaza, one has become a popular refrain: the increasing taxes levied by Hamas. Fathi Abu Gamar, a gas station owner in Jabaliya refugee camp, readily joins the chorus: The Islamist movement that rules this tiny coastal territory takes more than half his revenue from gas sales, he says, leaving him with a tiny profit.

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