Palestinian Statehood | The American Task Force on Palestine

Cooperation Could Limit Damage After UN Palestinian Vote: View
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
(Editorial) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is like a boat sailing at full speed toward a waterfall, with the whole world watching from the shore and afraid to intervene. Western governments must act now to minimize the damage. Palestinians seem determined to push for a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly that recognizes an independent Palestinian state. In our view, this is a tragic mistake that could end up hurting Palestinian and Israeli interests, set back efforts to restart negotiations and endanger an already unstable region.

Moving Middle East Peace Forward After the U.N. General Assembly
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Center for American Progress
by Ian Bomberg - (Analysis) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinians’ bid for statehood at the United Nations will not improve daily life in the West Bank or Gaza. Instead, tensions between Israelis and Palestinians will increase, potentially leading to violence. As a result, the Palestinian state-building program, which is developing sustainable Palestinian institutions, will remain an essential tool for addressing these challenges. All parties involved, including the international community, will need to overcome a desire for punitive actions by working together on the state-building program in order to resolve shared day-to-day problems.

Abbas to meet U.S. envoy Thursday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
(Analysis) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet U.S. Middle East envoy David Hale Thursday to discuss renewing peace talks with Israel, an official from Abbas' office said. Hale is in the region to try to reach a compromise allowing the negotiations to resume and avoid a Palestinian bid for United Nations membership later this month. "Abbas is still open to study any serious ideas from U.S. officials regarding the launching of a meaningful peace process," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Palestinians Say a U.N. Gamble on Statehood Is Worth the Risks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

It is far from clear what will happen when the Palestinians go to the United Nations next week to seek recognition of statehood. But the initiative is engaging a Palestinian public that had become deeply cynical after 20 years of intermittent Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Anxieties mount over Palestinian statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The countdown to a Palestinian bid next week for membership and recognition as a state in the United Nations brought a stark warning from Israel on Wednesday that approval would result in “harsh and grave consequences” for the Palestinians. The threat by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was the sharpest yet in an escalating cycle of rhetoric on all sides of the conflict. While the Palestinians say they will go ahead with the move, the Obama administration dispatched two senior envoys to the region Wednesday to restate the American case against the statehood bid.

Q&A on Palestinian statehood at the UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Yossi Klein Halevi, Hussein Ibish - (Interview) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinians are set to appeal to the United Nations in September for recognition of statehood. Despite opposition from Israel and the United States, a UN vote now looks inevitable. The Guardian and the Forward have brought together two experts to take part in an online Q&A to answer your questions about what may prove a game-changing development in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinians express doubts and fear over UN statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

If you think all West Bank Palestinians are enthusiastic about next week's vote at the United Nations for Palestinian statehood, just ask Hurriyah Ziada. Ms Ziada, a 22-year-old sociology student at Birzeit University in the West Bank, insists UN recognition of a Palestinian state is a mistake because it also represents a tacit acknowledgement of Israel's permanence as a Jewish state.

Palestinians to seek full UN membership Sept. 23
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinians will ask the Security Council next week to accept them as a full member of the United Nations, the Palestinian foreign minister said Thursday, a move that would defy Washington's threat to veto the statehood bid. The remarks by Riad Malki came just ahead of the arrival in the West Bank of a senior U.S. diplomatic team that was in the region in a last-ditch effort to persuade the Palestinians to drop the U.N. bid. Although Malki did not close the door on compromise, his comments signaled the chances of breakthrough were slim.

Why Palestinian statehood is a question for the U.N.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joshua Goldstein, Shibley Telhami - (Opinion) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

As the Palestinians seek U.N. support for a state of their own, Washington has advanced two arguments to dissuade them: first, that taking the issue of statehood to the United Nations is a unilateral move away from negotiations with Israel; and second, that the effort will be counterproductive because the United States will veto any such U.N. Security Council resolution.

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