FM: Palestinians could withdraw UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian leadership plans to seek recognition of statehood from the United Nations in September but would be willing to postpone the bid if peace talks restart with a clear timetable, the foreign minister in Ramallah said Monday. Riyad Al-Maliki says the Palestinians are moving forward on the plan, but that step "can be avoided if negotiations start before September based on clear foundations and a timetable."

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Palestinian envoy to UN: European states will recognize Palestine before September
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, is in the forefront of the Palestinian diplomatic move ? now gaining momentum ? before the General Assembly meet in September. In the coming weeks, Mansour will submit to the UN secretary general an official request for Palestine to be accepted as a full member of the world body. Mansour hopes that September will see more than 130 countries voting in the General Assembly in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state, even if it does not receive full membership status.

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How not to have a Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Members of the Friends of Israel Initiative - (Opinion) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, and its international recognition, would be a huge mistake. A peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians is essential, but can be achieved only through honest negotiations – not by one party imposing a unilateral decision.

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Palestinians hold US responsible for Israel policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Sawafta - July 12, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 12 (Reuters) - The Palestinian leadership, in unusually harsh criticism of Washington, on Tuesday held the United States responsible for "racist" Israeli policies it said had sabotaged the peace process. The leadership said recent developments had confirmed the need for the Palestinians to go to the U.N. General Assembly in September to seek international recognition for a state of Palestine on lands occupied by Israel since 1967.

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ISRAEL: A welcome to South Sudan ... and maybe a lesson at home
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - July 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Hundreds of Sudanese and other African asylum seekers and migrants celebrated the independence of South Sudan in Israel on Sunday, flocking from all ends of the country to a southern neighborhood of Tel Aviv, the home away from home for many migrants.

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Quartet finds slow progress in Mideast peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Agence France Press (AFP) - July 12, 2011 - 12:00am

The Middle East diplomatic Quartet found out in Washington how massively bogged down the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is, despite efforts at bringing the parties closer. Representatives of the Quartet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, declined to issue a statement about their evening dinner.

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A Palestinian View: September needs Israel's awakening and not politicians' bluffs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Mahdi Abdul Hadi - (Opinion) July 11, 2011 - 12:00am

The proposal made by Yossi Alpher and several other Israelis of "Buying into Palestinian Statehood" (New York Times, June 24, 2011) is based on several wishful assumptions for the "day after".

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Mideast Quartet meets to avoid looming crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 11, 2011 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Envoys from the Middle East diplomatic Quartet meet on Monday in Washington in one of the final attempts to avoid a major confrontation at the United Nations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Monday's meeting sees the senior diplomats -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov -- "compare notes about where we are and plot a course forward" on the peace process, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Friday.

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News Analysis: Palestinians awaiting eagerly outcomes of Quartet, AL meetings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Drimly, Osama Radi - July 11, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinians are eagerly waiting for the outcomes of two decisive meetings, the international Quartet meeting due to be held soon in Washington and the meeting of the Arab League Committee to follow up the Middle East peace process.

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Israel 1967 Borders Are Central in Mideast Talks Restart Effort
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Nicole Gaouette, Bill Varner - July 11, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama’s proposal to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by starting with the 1967 borders will likely be adopted by the international group trying to find a peace agreement. The meeting today in Washington by the “Quartet” -- the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia -- has taken on added urgency as Palestinians plan to ask the UN to recognize their state in a September vote. Israel and the U.S. oppose the move, which would raise political and legal questions.

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