"Progress" in Euro-diplomacy for limited UN upgrade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Analysis) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- European diplomats trying to persuade Palestinian leaders to seek an upgrade of their UN status without full membership have had "meaningful progress," Israeli media said. Hebrew-daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoted a senior Israeli source on Thursday saying Palestinians' acceptance of this proposal will improve their UN standing, while allowing Israel to coexist with the new status.

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EU seeks limited upgrade of Palestinians' UN status
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Justyna Pawlak - (Analysis) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

BRUSSELS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - - The European Union hopes to persuade Palestinian leaders to drop plans for full United Nations membership this month in return for a nuanced upgrading of their U.N. observer status, EU diplomats said on Thursday. The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, went to the Middle East this week to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians with the aim of reviving peace talks and averting a Palestinian statehood bid at the U.N. General Assembly, which begins its annual gathering on Sept. 21.

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Netanyahu: Israel will agree to upgrade of Palestinian status, not statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - (Analysis) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel would agree to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's status at the United Nations as long as it is not declared a state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in talks with Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, over the past few days. On Thursday Netanyahu decided to address the UN General Assembly next Friday, the day the Palestinians will submit their statehood bid. Meanwhile, the Foreign ministry summoned the ambassadors of five key EU members Thursday to rebuke them over their countries' policy on the Palestinians' bid for UN recognition as a state.

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Palestine at the United Nations: Sidestepped by both Friends and the World's Major Players
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

No party is in an enviable position in the current battle over the Palestinian state at the United Nations. Everyone is embarrassed, and some even find themselves caught up in a costly dilemma.

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Digging in, the essence of Netanyahu's foreign policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Analysis) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

The years-long diplomatic effort to integrate Israel as an accepted neighbor in the Middle East collapsed this week, with the expulsion of the Israeli ambassadors from Ankara and Cairo, and the rushed evacuation of the embassy staff from Amman. This is the lowest point in Israeli foreign policy since the groundbreaking visit to Jerusalem by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1977. The region is spewing out the Jewish state, which is increasingly shutting itself off behind fortified walls, under a leadership that refuses any change, movement or reform and is dealing with debacle after debacle.

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Al-Malki, PA Officials Paint US Loser in Palestinian UN Gambit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Felice Friedson - (Opinion) September 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Questions of procedure and outcome of the Palestinian UN gambit remain rife with only a week before Mahmoud ‘Abbas stands before the U.N. General Assembly on September 23 and, according to Minister Dr. Riad Al-Malki, “presents the official request for the state of Palestine to be granted full membership” to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Al-Malki said it had been decided to bring the issue of statehood to the Security Council, seemingly daring the US to cast its promised veto and face international isolation. Not certain is whether the U.S.

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Palestinians to seek full UN membership Sept. 23
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinians will ask the Security Council next week to accept them as a full member of the United Nations, the Palestinian foreign minister said Thursday, a move that would defy Washington's threat to veto the statehood bid. The remarks by Riad Malki came just ahead of the arrival in the West Bank of a senior U.S. diplomatic team that was in the region in a last-ditch effort to persuade the Palestinians to drop the U.N. bid. Although Malki did not close the door on compromise, his comments signaled the chances of breakthrough were slim.

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Israel clears embassy staff from Amman ahead of Jordan protest
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Concerned about a demonstration planned outside its embassy in Amman, the Israeli government brought its ambassador and most embassy staff back to Israel late Wednesday night. The move reflected concern about a possible repeat of an incident last Friday in Cairo, in which protesters stormed the Israeli Embassy, and Israel’s ambassador in Egypt and his staff were airlifted back to Israel. After intervention by top U.S. officials, Egyptian police and military broke up the protest and commandos extricated six Israeli security guards who were trapped in the embassy. 83 Comments

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Cooperation Could Limit Damage After UN Palestinian Vote: View
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
(Editorial) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is like a boat sailing at full speed toward a waterfall, with the whole world watching from the shore and afraid to intervene. Western governments must act now to minimize the damage. Palestinians seem determined to push for a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly that recognizes an independent Palestinian state. In our view, this is a tragic mistake that could end up hurting Palestinian and Israeli interests, set back efforts to restart negotiations and endanger an already unstable region.

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Israel prevents Palestinians from free movement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Google News
by Diaa Hadid - September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Ahmad Ayyash once had a construction job in Israel, earning good money. Now he is a goat herder struggling to eke out a living, barred from working in Israel and restricted from entering his olive grove next to this West Bank village. Ayyash's story is familiar to Palestinians, who face a complicated system of travel restrictions that Israel mostly developed during the height of violence between them and Palestinians, hoping to prevent militants from reaching the Jewish state and West Bank settlements.

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