After Palestinian Statehood Bid, Where Do Mideast Talks Stand?
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In PBS - September 23, 2011 - 12:00am

RAY SUAREZ: Now two assessments of the speeches and what's next from Ghaith Al-Omari, a former adviser to President Abbas, now executive director of the American Task Force on Palestine, and David Makovsky, director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former executive editor of The Jerusalem Post. Well, Ghaith, earlier this week, the Obama administration tried to convince Mahmoud Abbas not to go ahead with the bid. Obviously, they didn't succeed. But why now and why this?

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Obama at the UN on Israel-Palestine: Good Politics, Poor Diplomacy
In Print by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) - September 23, 2011 - 12:00am

If you'd wanted to gauge how strained relations between the Obama administration and the Palestinian leadership have become, all you'd need do is watch the shaking heads of the Palestinian representatives at the United Nations General Assembly during the U.S. President's speech there on Wednesday. Obama reiterated the American commitment to a two-state solution and the creation of an independent Palestine, both established U.S. policy. Rhetorically, however, his speech recognized most of the core elements of the Israeli narrative but virtually none of the Palestinian one.

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Could a U.N. Upgrade Help the Palestinians Prosecute Israeli Officials?
In Print by Hussein Ibish - Slate (Opinion) - September 23, 2011 - 12:00am

Would a Palestinian state recognized by the United Nations have the right to bring legal action against Israel and Israeli officials at the International Criminal Court or the U.N.'s own International Court of Justice?

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Domestic Politics Produce Three-Way Collision at United Nations
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Bloomberg - September 23, 2011 - 12:00am

The collision this week over Palestinian statehood at the United Nations has been coming since Israel and the Palestinian Authority hit an impasse in negotiations a year ago and U.S. President Barack Obama was unable to get them back to the bargaining table.

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U.S. Makes Security Preparations for After Palestinian Bid at UN
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Bloomberg - September 23, 2011 - 12:00am

The U.S. has laid the groundwork for maintaining security in the aftermath of the Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN, including the possibility of violence. The effort includes discussions with Gulf countries, planning with Israeli and Palestinian security forces, and aid to ensure the Palestinian Authority can pay its personnel. The U.S. has made clear its intent to block a Palestinian request for United Nations recognition. To avoid needing to exercise its veto power, the U.S. has been working with Israel to persuade members of the Security Council to abstain from voting.

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Go-it-Alone Strategy Leaves Palestinians Divided
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Huffington Post - September 23, 2011 - 12:00am

For months Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has traversed the globe, lobbying members of the United Nations to vote in support of a unilaterally declared Palestinian state. This is the week when he will take this long-threatened action, and when the member states will decide to support or oppose the Palestinian bid.

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Obama at the UN on Israel-Palestine: Good Politics, Poor Diplomacy
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Atlantic (Opinion) - September 22, 2011 - 12:00am

If you'd wanted to gauge how strained relations between the Obama administration and the Palestinian leadership have become, all you'd need do is watch the shaking heads of the Palestinian representatives at the United Nations General Assembly during the U.S. President's speech there on Wednesday. Obama reiterated the American commitment to a two-state solution and the creation of an independent Palestine, both established U.S. policy. Rhetorically, however, his speech recognized most of the core elements of the Israeli narrative but virtually none of the Palestinian one.

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Palestine between fact and fiction
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In NOW Lebanon - September 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ announcement that he intends to seek full United Nations membership from the Security Council raises a wide range of interesting, and in some ways alarming, scenarios for the coming weeks. However, the move is unlikely to ultimately bring Palestinians any closer to actual independence.

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Palestine progress seen up in air with U.N. bid
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In USA Today - September 21, 2011 - 12:00am

In the past two years, Palestinians who live in the West Bank have seen economic growth that would be the envy of other nations. The Israeli checkpoints that aim to stop terrorists but make travel difficult have been reduced by half. And there is an explosion of construction projects ranging from industrial parks to the first planned city in modern history in a territory that fails to treat much of its sewage.

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The Diane Rehm Show: Palestinian Push for U.N. Membership
Interview with Ziad Asali - National Public Radio (NPR) - September 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Guests: Ziad Asali president and founder of The American Task Force on Palestine. Peter David Washington DC bureau chief, The Economist David Makovsky

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