High-stakes diplomacy to avoid UN showdown
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Analysis) September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) -- Top Palestinian and Israeli leaders held talks in New York amid frantic diplomatic efforts to avoid a showdown over a Palestinian bid to seek full UN membership as a state. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak held an unannounced meeting a day ahead of the UN General Assembly, which is being dominated by a Palestinian bid for UN recognition that the United States has threatened to veto.

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U.S. to Netanyahu: Don't sanction Palestinians following statehood bid at UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - (Analysis) September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

The United States and several European countries have been urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to take drastic punitive measures against the Palestinians after they ask the United Nations to recognize their state. Netanyahu, who is under heavy pressure from Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon to respond strongly to the Palestinian Authority, has decided at this point to wait until the significance of the Palestinian move becomes clearer to commit to any course of action.

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Playing a dangerous game
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Jeff Barak - (Opinion) September 18, 2011 - 12:00am

When Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu makes his speech to the United Nations General Assembly at the end of the week in New York, he will be facing a much tougher audience than he experienced when addressing the Houses of Congress in Washington on his last trip to the United States.

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Palestinian Options at U.N. Lead to Legal Threat to Israel's Military
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Joe Lauria - (Analysis) September 17, 2011 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS—If the Palestinian Authority succeeds in winning even an incremental upgrade of its status at the U.N, it could subject Israel's military to international courts for actions in Palestinian territory—as well as allow Palestinian control of its Israeli-patrolled air space and national waters off Gaza. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday he would seek full U.N. membership through the Security Council. If the U.S. vetoes that effort, as it has vowed to do, the Palestinians have a second option for membership: go to the General Assembly.

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Mousa envisions vigorous and peaceful Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Amr Mousa, 74, the front-runner in the contest for the presidency of post-revolution Egypt, has called for a renegotiation of the military annexes to the Egyptian-Israel Peace Treaty of 1979. “The Treaty will continue to exist,” he told me in an exclusive interview on September 10, “but Egypt needs forces in Sinai. The security situation requires it. Israel must understand that the restrictions imposed by the Treaty have to be reviewed.”

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Ten Reasons for a European 'Yes'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Martti Ahtisaari, Javier Solana - (Opinion) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

It is not often that Europe has the chance to play a pivotal role on the world stage. But as the Palestinians push for recognition as a state at the United Nations later this month, the European Union is finding itself courted by each side, and therefore more influential on the Middle East process than at any time since the Oslo Accords. As ever, the biggest challenge facing the E.U.’s 27 member states is presenting a unified front. There are 10 compelling reasons for them to coalesce around a “yes” vote and keep the two-state approach to Middle East peace alive.

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Avoiding an Israeli-Palestinian 'Train Wreck'
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In Council On Foreign Relations - September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Though Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to seek Palestinian statehood status at the UN General Assembly meeting next week, efforts are underway by the United States, Israel, and the Palestinians to avoid a major collision on the issue, says Ziad J. Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine.

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Palestinian bid at U.N. distracts from the real crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

(CNN) -- Rarely has so much time, energy and attention been devoted to an issue less consequential than this month's Palestinian bid for statehood at the U.N.—an episode characterized by hyperbole and muddled thinking on the part of just about everyone. The real crisis -- the one that is really worth worrying about -- is the improbability of a conflict-ending agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

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An Israel in trouble makes a peace deal more urgent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by John Hughes - (Opinion) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

If the dramatic upheaval taking place throughout the Arab world is to have a constructive outcome, a critical necessity is peace between Arabs and Israelis. On this issue, the world is now at crunch time. The choice is clear: New descent into the senseless antagonism and violence that has bedeviled the Arab- Israeli relationship for decades, or a two-state agreement providing security for Israel and a sovereign homeland for Palestinians.

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Avoiding an Israeli-Palestinian 'Train Wreck'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Council On Foreign Relations
by Bernard Gwertzman - (Interview) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Though Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to seek Palestinian statehood status at the UN General Assembly meeting next week, efforts are underway by the United States, Israel, and the Palestinians to avoid a major collision on the issue, says Ziad J. Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine.

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American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017