Events | Daily News | About Us | Resources | Contact Us | Donate | Site Map | Privacy Policy
The Palestinians said the U.N. General Assembly will vote Thursday afternoon on a resolution raising their status at the United Nations from an observer to a nonmember observer state, a move they believe is an important step toward a two-state solution with Israel.
The Palestinian Authority submitted a draft resolution to the U.N.
General Assembly that would recognize the Palestinians as a nonmember state of the U.N., a move that could have far-reaching implications for the 65-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel is negotiating with the United States over the wording of the proposal at the UN General Assembly Thursday that would upgrade the Palestinians to observer status.
Four days before the UN votes on the Palestinians' bid to upgrade its status to that of a "non-member observer state," the State of Israel has yet to form any official position on the matter.
Britain is considering a change in in its position on the Palestinian bid at the United Nations in an attempt to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' stance, U.K. newspaper Financial Times reported late Monday. London's support is conditioned on continued peace talks with Israel and the PA refraining from bringing cases against Israeli officials to the International Criminal Court, the newspaper said.
Israel is seeking the addition of a clause in the PLO's UN bid rejecting membership of the International Criminal Court, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Tuesday.
The Palestinian Authority has circulated a revised draft resolution to U.N. member states calling for an upgrade of its U.N. status to an "observer state" ahead of a planned vote on the issue by the 193-member world body on Thursday.
Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas plans to submit his second bid to upgrade the status of the Palestine [14] at the
The heart of Khadija Arafat [17], sister of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was full of sadness, just hours before international experts will dig up the remains of her brother from his tomb in the West Bank city of Ramallah to know the reasons behind his death.
The young Israeli officer who leads the campaign [19] to cast his nation’s military in a positive light on social networks restricted access to his own Facebook account on Sunday, after a Lebanese blogger discovered t
Former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni announced her return to politics on Tuesday, telling supporters that she was forming a new party to run in January parliamentary elections on a platform promising an aggressive push for peace with the Palestinians.
Oil fell below $88 per barrel on Monday after a slow day of trading.
In the wake of its eight-day clash with Israel [23],Hamas [24] will seek $1 billion in reconstruction aid from the Arab world and
The European Union is considering blocking violent Israeli settlers from entering member states, Israeli daily Haaretz reported Monday. Police have begun ordering Palestinian laborers with legal work permits off buses from the Tel Aviv area to the West Bank, following complaints from settlers that Palestinians pose a security risk by riding the same buses as them. At 6:30 a.m. on Friday morning, two days after the current round of fighting in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas began, the phone rang in Rafi’s house in Jerusalem, calling him up for reserve service in his combat infantry unit. Recent developments, especially last week's conflict with Israel, have transformed the Palestinian political landscape in favor of Hamas in Gaza and at the expense of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Palestinians are facing a momentous choice: the path of diplomacy and institution-building championed by the PA, or that of confrontation and armed struggle championed by Hamas. THE cease-fire that ended the latest round of violence between Israel and the Palestinians has enhanced the popularity of the militant group Hamas. This extremist organization has become the only interlocutor for the Arab world, for the West and, indirectly, for Israel. But Hamas refuses to recognize Israel’s existence or to negotiate with Israelis. Meanwhile, the pragmatic Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, is rapidly losing legitimacy and Israel’s recent strikes on Gaza will only weaken it further. A few weeks ago, the U.S. and Israel were painting Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian faction Fatah, as an extremist for vowing to ask the United Nations on Nov. 29 to grant Palestine status as a nonmember observer state. In light of the violence just unleashed on Israel by Fatah’s rival, Hamas, it now seems a relatively mild maneuver. Growing popular support for Hamas’s belligerence makes Abbas an increasingly rare moderate, whose legitimacy needs to be bolstered by the international community. For now, the fighting has stopped in Israel and Gaza. But let's be honest, this is the latest round in a long and bitter struggle. In the future, more bloodshed is likely. After eight days of clashes, Hamas' claim that it is the true leader of the Palestinian resistance has gained strength. Long-range rocket attacks on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have made Israelis increasingly wary of a two-state solution. Shulamit Aloni will celebrate her 84th birthday this week, giving us an opportunity to yearn for the left-wing leadership that was, and to the kind of politics we used to have here but no longer do. Aloni's political personality conveyed a single message: war. She fought unceasingly against the country's priorities, which put the army, the settlers and the ultra-Orthodox at the top. The Palestinian Authority’s moves at the United Nations for recognition of a Palestinian state have raised objections. Since many support the idea, however, including some Israeli politicians, and with little hope for successful negotiations, the PA’s move seems logical. They can continue to attack Israel diplomatically and legally, continue incitement, raise their stature, and avoid recognizing Israel. Barring a sudden change of mind, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will ask the UN General Assembly on Thursday to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state of the world body. The long anticipated PA scheme, bypassing direct talks with Israel, will do little to advance the prospects for achieving a permanent peace accord, or an actual independent Palestinian state. The last round of violence between Israel and Hamas, which ended with yet another cease-fire, took place on a backdrop of stormy internal discussions in Israel regarding a permanent solution to the conflict with the Palestinian side. Israeli and Palestinian politicians and thinkers who supported the two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders have concluded that the Oslo process has reached the end of its usefulness and that other solutions must be found. The eight-day conflict between Hamas and Israel has ended in a cease-fire. Although shorter than Operation Cast Lead in 2008-09, the latest Israeli Operation Pillar of Defense was nevertheless devastating. Israeli naval and air bombardments killed 165 and wounded 1,200 Palestinians, while damage to Gaza’s infrastructure amounted to $1.2 billion. The rockets fired from Gaza resulted in five Israeli deaths and scores wounded. If a man from Mars descended to observe Israel’s attack on the Gaza strip, he would have seen one group of humans trapped in a densely populated area, largely defenseless while a modern air force destroyed their buildings at will. Links:
Israeli Reservists Frustrated, But Willing to Fight in Gaza Again
The Palestinian Choice—And Ours
Support Palestinian Statehood
To Bolster Palestinian Moderates, Let Abbas Win at the UN
After the ceasefire
When the Israeli left did it right
Who wants a Palestinian state?
On My Mind: Abbas’s choice
Gaza Is Not Egypt
Iran and Hamas Winners In Gaza Conflict
Why Americans Don't Understand Palestine
[1] http://www.americantaskforce.org/print/29040
[2] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printmail/29040
[3] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printpdf/29040
[4] http://www.americantaskforce.org/rss/wpr
[5] https://www.americantaskforce.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=1
[6] http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/top-news/un-to-vote-thursday-on-raising-palestinian-status/nTGGg/
[7] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323330604578143570286185716.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
[8] http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-u-s-hold-secret-talks-on-softening-palestinian-authority-s-un-bid.premium-1.480735
[9] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4312013,00.html
[10] http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/in-wake-of-gaza-flare-up-u-k-could-support-palestinian-bid-at-un.premium-1.480841
[11] http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=542433
[12] http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/backed-by-hamas-palestinians-eye-thursday-vote-for-un-upgrade/
[13] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-11/27/c_132000510.htm
[14] http://search.news.cn/language/search.jspa?id=en&t1=0&t=1&ss=&btn=0&ct=Israel&n1=Palestine&np=content
[15] http://search.news.cn/language/search.jspa?id=en&t=1&t1=0&ss=&ct=&n1=UN
[16] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-11/27/c_132000497.htm
[17] http://search.news.cn/language/search.jspa?id=en&t=1&t1=0&ss=&ct=&n1=Arafat
[18] http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/israeli-militarys-twitter-warrior-posed-obama-style-in-blackface/?ref=middleeast
[19] http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/israels-military-launches-social-media-offensive-as-bombs-fall-on-gaza/
[20] http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/top-news/aide-israels-former-fm-livni-returns-to-politics/nTGPC/
[21] http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/automotive/oil-prices-fall-as-israel-hamas-truce-holds/nTF6n/
[22] http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-hamas-rebuild-qa-20121126,0,6919116.story
[23] http://www.latimes.com/topic/intl/israel-PLGEO0000010.topic
[24] http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/hamas-ORCIG0000058.topic
[25] http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=542142
[26] http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/police-order-palestinian-workers-off-buses-to-west-bank-at-request-of-israeli-settlers.premium-1.480741
[27] http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=36561
[28] http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/26/the-palestinian-choice-and-ours.html
[29] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/opinion/support-palestinian-statehood.html?_r=0
[30] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-26/to-bolster-palestinian-moderates-let-abbas-win-at-the-un-view.html?alcmpid=view
[31] http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=541373
[32] http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/when-the-israeli-left-did-it-right.premium-1.480521
[33] http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=293548
[34] http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=293546
[35] http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2012/al-monitor/gaza-egypt.html
[36] http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2012/al-monitor/gazawarregionaleffects.html
[37] http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/the-official-line-palestine-7769