Coalition seeks to discourage Christians from fleeing ME
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ray Hanania - (Opinion) July 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Not many in the Middle East care about the plight of Christians.They are marginalized on both sides of the Arab-Israeli line. But regardless of the reasons, the numbers of Christians have dwindled over the years, in part because Christians can more easily emigrate to Western - predominantly Christian – nations. In Jordan, one of the Arab countries where Christians feel safest, a coalition including Muslim and Christian clergymen, politicians and journalists are launching a campaign to convince Christians to stay.

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Israel’s opportunity to stop a train wreck
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
by James Carroll - (Opinion) July 18, 2011 - 12:00am

EVER SINCE outgoing Middle East envoy George Mitchell used the phrase “train wreck’’ with Charlie Rose in May, it has become jargon for what will happen in September when the Palestinian leadership goes to the United Nations seeking “full membership for the state of Palestine.” The Netanyahu government is so gravely threatened that it has made opposition to the UN affirmation of Palestinian independence a litmus test of loyalty to Israel. A catastrophe looms.

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Do not speak, do not resist - Israel rules out non-violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - (Opinion) July 18, 2011 - 12:00am

It was an Arab legislator who made the most telling comment to the Israeli parliament last week as it passed the boycott law, which outlaws calls to boycott Israel or its settlements in the occupied territories. Ahmed Tibi asked: "What is a peace activist or Palestinian allowed to do to oppose the occupation? Is there anything you agree to?" The boycott law is the latest in a series of ever-more draconian laws being introduced by the far-right. The legislation's goal is to intimidate those Israelis who have yet to bow down before the majority-rule mob.

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AN ISRAELI VIEW Responsibility will rest with the Quartet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) July 18, 2011 - 12:00am

The creation of the Quartet by US President George W. Bush was a unique and interesting attempt to develop an effective international mechanism that is not subject to the problematic rules of the game of the United Nations. The new forum was supposed to expand America's wingspan without the burden of the Security Council and the nearly-200 members of the General Assembly.

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Israeli and Palestinian Activists Gloomy Over Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - July 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Budapest — On the boat sailing along the Danube River, Israeli and Palestinian peace activists seemed closer than ever. Sipping Hungarian wine on deck and sharing laughs, diplomats, prominent activists and journalists from both sides formed a close pact, joking over their own roles in what is widely known as the peace industry. But while the industry remains vibrant, peace has never seemed further away.

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Former US official derides Palestinian UN effort
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Matti Friedman - July 15, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — A Palestinian attempt to gain U.N. recognition without a peace agreement with Israel means "next to nothing" even if it succeeds, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said Friday. John Bolton, who served as a U.N. envoy for the Bush administration, said the General Assembly is certain to support the current Palestinian effort to win backing for a unilateral declaration of a state in September. But he said it will be meaningless without approval in the Security Council, where it almost certainly faces a U.S. veto.

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US rejects Arab League support for PA statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh, Hilary Leila Krieger, Tovah Lazaroff - July 15, 2011 - 12:00am

An Arab League decision to ask the UN to recognize a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines would not serve the peace process, the US said on Thursday. “We’ve been clear in our conviction that unilateral approaches to try to seek statehood via the United Nations will not lead to a comprehensive settlement,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told The Jerusalem Post in a statement. “That will only come via the hard give and take of negotiations and mutual agreement, and we are committed to working with the parties to pursue it that way.”

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Quartet reset? International peacemakers seemingly stumped on Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yahoo News
by Laura Rozen - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am

For the small clique that comprises the world's most senior statesmen and -women, the Monday night meal hosted by Hillary Clinton to review efforts to get the Israelis and Palestinians back to the peace table might have been expected to follow the usual script: familiar colleagues, familiar talking points, followed by the expected issuing of a joint statement expressing international consensus on the urgent need for resumed negotiations. Blah blah blah blah. Or so one might have thought.

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PLO condemns UNESCO for listing Jerusalem as Israel's capital
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 14, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Thursday condemned listing Jerusalem as Israel's capital on the website of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Identifying Jerusalem as Israel's unified capital "is a procedure against humanitarian and international legitimacy and the Security Council's resolutions that consider East Jerusalem as an occupied city," said the PLO in a statement.

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Palestine’s Split Over Statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Dan Ephron - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinians have been talking for months about petitioning the United Nations in September for a vote that would push them closer to statehood. Now, as the deadline for a decision nears, the top policy-makers in Ramallah are divided over precisely what course to take, according to Palestinian and western officials familiar with internal discussions on the matter.

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