Israel warns of 'harsh' consequences of Palestinian UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 14, 2011 - 12:00am Hardline Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned Wednesday there will be "harsh and grave consequences" if the Palestinians persist with their plan to seek UN membership as a state. Speaking shortly before a scheduled meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Lieberman did not elaborate on the possible consequences. "The moment has not yet come to give details of what will happen," he said. In the past he has called for Israel to sever all relations with the administration of President Mahmoud Abbas should it press on with its UN bid. » Read more

18 years after Oslo, Palestinians try a new tack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Maher Abukhater - (Blog) September 13, 2011 - 12:00am On Sept. 13, 1993, current Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and current Israeli President Shimon Peres signed at the While House the so-called Oslo Accords, ushering in a new era and hopes of peace in the decades-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The agreement was signed in the presence of President Bill Clinton, former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. » Read more

Palestinians Pressured to Seek General Assembly Vote on Statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by David Kirkpatrick - September 13, 2011 - 12:00am A top negotiator for the Palestinian Authority said Tuesday night that its leadership was weighing the strong urging of both the Arab states and the Europeans to turn to the General Assembly of the United Nations — and not its Security Council — in a bid to win international recognition as a state. » Read more

U.S. Scrambles to Avert Palestinian Vote at U.N. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by David Kirkpatrick - September 14, 2011 - 12:00am The United States faced increasing pressure on Tuesday as the Palestinian quest for statehood gained support from Turkey and other countries, even as the Obama administration sought an 11th-hour compromise that would avoid a confrontation at the United Nations next week. With only days to go before world leaders gather in New York, the maneuvering became an exercise in brinkmanship as the administration wrestles with roiling tensions in the region, including a sharp deterioration of relations between three of its closest allies in the region: Egypt, Israel and Turkey. » Read more