A Palestine State: A Discussion with Ghaith al-Omari
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In - September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

The Oberlin College Dialoge Center will facilitate a discussion led by Ghaith al-Omari, former senior research fellow with New America's American Strategy Program in 2008 and early 2009. Before joining the New America Foundation, al-Omari served in various senior positions within the Palestinian Authority, including foreign policy advisor to the Palestinian president, director of the International Relations Department in the Office of the Palestinian President, and senior advisor to former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.

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Barack Obama caught between Israel and his Palestinian 'promise'
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Guardian - September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Barack Obama has good reason to ask what the present Israeli government has ever done for him. When the White House asked it to halt construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories to give peace talks a chance, the building went on. After Washington pressed Binyamin Netanyahu to embrace the promise of Palestinian independence within months, the Israeli prime minister did his best to scupper any prospect of new talks.

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Poll: Palestinians support UN bid, fear consequences
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A majority of Palestinians support the bid for Palestine's membership of the UN, but expect a negative backlash, according to the results of a survey released Sunday. While 84 percent of Palestinians support the bid, 87 percent believe the US will react negatively, and 90 percent think Israel will respond by worsening the conditions of Palestinians, the September study by Ramallah-based research institute Near East Consulting said.

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Diplomats Scramble as Palestinians Plan to Apply for U.N. Membership on Friday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Neil MacFarquhar, Steven Lee Myers - (Analysis) September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said Monday that he would present an application for Palestine to join the United Nations immediately after he addresses the General Assembly on Friday, as diplomats worked frenetically to try to limit the fallout from the application. Mr. Abbas told Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations secretary general, that he was determined to move forward. “I think it has dawned on everybody that they cannot convince us not to go,” said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian delegation. “Most people are discussing what is next.”

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Donor Nations: Palestinians Ready for Statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Donor nations on Sunday reaffirmed the Palestinian Authority's readiness for statehood based on new reports from key international financial institutions and the United Nations. The backing from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the U.N. and the donors as world leaders started arriving for high-level meetings at the General Assembly should give a boost to the Palestinians as they press their bid for U.N. membership as an independent state.

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Abbas' U.N. fantasy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Ron Prosor - (Opinion) September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

In Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," the heroine falls down a rabbit hole into a confusing fantasy world. Writing today, Carroll might have placed Alice in the 66th General Assembly of the United Nations, where Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans this week to seek U.N. recognition of statehood. If Alice was perplexed by the Mad Hatter or the Queen of Hearts, it would be interesting to see her reaction to a president whose mandate has long expired applying for statehood over territory, part of which he is too afraid to visit.

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Joe Walsh To Palestinians: Stop Statehood Bid Or Israel Will Annex West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Joshua Hersh - (Analysis) September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

NEW YORK -- A Republican lawmaker has introduced a resolution warning Palestinian leaders that Israel would be within its rights to annex the West Bank if they do not drop their bid for statehood at the United Nations this week. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) introduced the resolution as a way of urging Palestinian leaders to pull back from their plans to seek formal recognition for their state at the U.N. General Assembly meetings, which take place this week, according to his spokesman, Justin Roth.

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UN vote adds little to 20 years of failure in Middle East peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Opinion) September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's momentous decision to seek statehood at the United Nations has been interpreted in many ways: a bold, decisive move to force Israel's hand and level the playing field in future negotiations; a risky diplomatic gambit that will achieve little in the face of a certain US veto and will fuel tensions in an already volatile environment; a watershed moment in the Palestinian struggle for self-determination. Mostly, however, the move is an acknowledgement of failure.

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Cowards and liars
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

The bid for Palestinian statehood, due to be presented this week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, seems to have taken some world leaders by surprise. It is difficult to see how. For more than a decade, successive United States presidents have voiced their keenness on a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Bill Clinton, then George W. Bush, then finally Barack Obama have taken turns delaying a formal application for statehood under the guise of wanting to gain more favorable conditions through a continuation of peace talks.

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Palestinians seek state and trappings of a state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jon Donnison - (Analysis) September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinians got long awaited access to a global institution this month. "I've got a three-piece spicy chicken box with fries," beamed Shadi, an office worker in Ramallah, as he sat back and licked his lips. Kentucky Fried Chicken became the first major fast food franchise to open here. Ramallah has a "Stars And Bucks", mostly frequented by the latter, rather than the former. But no McDonald's. Not even Wimpy. In the week Palestinians take their quest for statehood to the United Nations, it obliged me to ask Shadi one simple, if facetious, question: today KFC, tomorrow a state?

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