Palestinian Statehood | The American Task Force on Palestine

Palestinian leader in Latin America to advance statehood cause
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Tracy Wilkinson - October 10, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was touring Latin America this week, his second visit to the region in less than a year as part of a worldwide lobbying effort to gain recognition for a Palestinian state. Abbas met officials in the Colombian capital of Bogota on Monday, a day after announcing with President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador plans to establish diplomatic ties there. Until recently, El Salvador was one of Israel's closest allies in Latin America.

A State is Born in Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ronen Bergman - (Opinion) October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Sixty-four years ago, in August 1947, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine presented to the General Assembly a startling and unexpected report, calling for an end to the British Mandate of Palestine and division of most of the territory into two independent states, with the Jewish state occupying the majority of the land. What came next, of course, is well known — a vote in the General Assembly on Nov. 29, 1947, in favor of partition, and the war that immediately followed.

Palestine: A Cause or a State?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Amir Taheri - October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Within days, the United Nations’ Security Council is expected to start debating the Palestinian Authority’s demand for recognition as a state. At first glance, this is a straightforward issue. Since its foundation after the Second World War, the UN has admitted as member over 150 countries. There is no reason why the Palestinian demand should pose problems.

The long road ahead for Palestine's statehood aspiration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Joseph Dana, Omar Rahman - October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

On September 23, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman and PA president, officially submitted Palestine's application for full membership in the United Nations, with a bold speech delivered to the General Assembly. During the address, cities throughout the West Bank were alight with excitement. Young and old celebrated almost as if the UN had already granted Palestine full membership to the international governing body.

Abbas urges Europe: Support Palestinian spring
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas told the Council of Europe on Thursday that security is created through peace, and not force. Addressing the council's parliamentary assembly in Strasbourg, Abbas appealed to Europe to support Palestine's bid for full UN membership, which is under review by a Security Council standing committee. "Today we are at the heart of the Arab spring: we say that the hour of the Palestinian spring has struck," he told European parliamentarians. "You supported the Arab spring which was seeking democracy and freedom," he said.

Carter: Obama must make good on Nobel Prize and back Palestinian statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama needs to make good on the promises that won him the Nobel Peace Prize, fellow laureate and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said on Thursday. Carter called on the current American president to back the Palestinian’s bid to the UN for statehood and seize the opportunity provided by the Arab Spring to facilitate Palestinian-Israeli peace.

Standing up for the Palestinians just got a lot more expensive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Colum Lynch - (Blog) October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's 58 member executive board voted on Wednesday to recommend the Palestinians as a new member, setting the stage for a high-stakes vote on the Palestinians admission later this month. But U.S. law prohibits funding for U.N. bodies that grant membership to entities without "internationally recognized attributes of statehood."

Palestinians Win a Vote on Bid to Join Unesco
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Steven Erlanger - October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Despite strong opposition from the United States, Germany and several other European states, the Palestinians gained initial approval on Wednesday of a bid for full membership in Unesco — the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — as part of their broader campaign for recognition as a state by the United Nations Security Council. But full membership in Unesco could mean a legally mandated cutoff of all contributions from the United States, both dues and voluntary.

Hamas popularity hits a new low after opposing UN statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Kristen Chick - October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Of the many complaints in Gaza, one has become a popular refrain: the increasing taxes levied by Hamas. Fathi Abu Gamar, a gas station owner in Jabaliya refugee camp, readily joins the chorus: The Islamist movement that rules this tiny coastal territory takes more than half his revenue from gas sales, he says, leaving him with a tiny profit.

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