Hamas says Abbas' call for UN recognition of non-member state "solo "
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
September 28, 2012 - 12:00am

GAZA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, said Thursday Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' bid to the United Nations for a non-member Palestinian state is "a solo action." Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in a press statement emailed to reporters that Abbas' move to ask for the UN recognition of a Palestinian state "wasn't agreed upon or consulted by the entire Palestinians."

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Mideast Peace Mired as Abbas Trades Taunts With Netanyahu
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Bloomberg - September 28, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exchanged taunts at the United Nations as the world body watched a peace process that has all but slipped away.

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Palestinian official criticizes U.S. position on U.N. recognition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - September 28, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- A Palestinian official Friday criticized President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for opposing Palestinians' bid for statehood recognition in the United Nations, and failing to give the issue more attention in their speeches this week before the international body.

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Activists: Now, yes now, is the time for US to push for MidEast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Christian Science Monitor
by Ariel Zirulnick - September 28, 2012 - 12:00am

Cambridge, Mass. A major Israeli-Palestinian activist group is bucking conventional wisdom by arguing that now is the right time to engage Americans in the moribund Middle East peace process. The presidential campaign season is traditionally a terrible time to make any progress on foreign policy, especially during elections focused on pocketbook issues.

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Abbas goes for UN bid of recognition as two-state solution retreated
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan - (Analysis) September 27, 2012 - 12:00am

  RAMALLAH, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas found out that reviving the stalled peace process with Israel impossible and the United States retreated from backing the two-state solution, he decided to go to the UN to ask for recognizing a non-member Palestinian state.

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Netanyahu, Abbas display divergent priorities at UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jonathan Marcus - (Opinion) September 27, 2012 - 12:00am

t is perhaps one of the paradoxes of the past 18 months in the Middle East that as people protested and dictators toppled, so the region's longest-lasting conflict - that between Israel and the Palestinians - has largely disappeared from the headlines. What used to be termed "the peace process" has largely become moribund - a useless label as there is no peace process to describe.

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Abbas set to renew bid to upgrade Palestine's UN status
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - September 27, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH // When Mahmoud Abbas addresses the UN General Assembly today, those in attendance could be forgiven if they experience a sense of déjà vu. During his speech at last year's annual gathering of the world body, the Palestinian Authority (PA) president announced his intention to seek recognition for a Palestinian state amid great fanfare and popular support back home. Today, he is expected to make a similar request. Only this time, the distinguished guests will notice the Palestinian leader doing so under less enthusiastic circumstances.

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Q&A: Palestinian bid for upgraded UN status
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
September 27, 2012 - 12:00am

The Palestinians are to ask the United Nations to upgrade their status to become a "non-member observer state" by the end of 2012. It follows a failed bid to join the international body as a full member state in 2011 because of a lack of support in the UN Security Council. Here is a guide to what is likely to happen and its significance. What are the Palestinians asking for?

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Abbas meets Clinton, Ashton ahead of UN speech
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 27, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday on the sidelines of a UN summit, the PA's official Wafa news agency reported. The report said the meeting in New York was attended by PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat, senior Abbas aides Nabil Abu Rudeina and Akram Haniyeh, and PLO ambassador Maen Areikat. Abbas was in New York for the 67th General Assembly of the United Nations, where he plans to seek an upgrade to Palestine's status at the world body.

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Are Netanyahu, Abbas really interested in 2-state solution?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Paul Gross - (Opinion) September 27, 2012 - 12:00am

With Binyamin Netanyahu’s focus firmly on the Iranian issue (and on how he can help the Romney campaign without Obama’s people finding out), and Mahmoud Abbas revisiting last year’s push for UN recognition of a Palestinian state in place of negotiations with Israel, the question should be asked: does either side actually want a two-state solution? The reality is that there has been less than a month of (tentative) negotiations in the three years since this government came to office.

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