The Palestinians are the new Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am Look at the Palestinians and look at us. Look at their leaders and recall ours. Not, of course, those we have today, but those we once had, the ones who established the state for us. The Palestinians are the new Jews and their leaders are amazingly similar to the former Zionist leaders. » Read more

Palestinians' U.N. gamble could backfire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Saree Makdisi - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am It goes without saying that Palestinians and Arabs are outraged by the idea that the United States is threatening to block recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations. What is less obvious, perhaps, is that some of the most vociferous critics of the Palestinian bid for upgraded U.N. recognition are Palestinians themselves. How could it be that advocates of Palestinian rights could be suspicious of, if not altogether opposed to, the U.N. gambit? Isn't the creation of an internationally recognized independent state the goal shared by all Palestinians? » Read more

Peace Now, or Never ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ehud Olmert - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am AS the United Nations General Assembly opens this year, I feel uneasy. An unnecessary diplomatic clash between Israel and the Palestinians is taking shape in New York, and it will be harmful to Israel and to the future of the Middle East. I know that things could and should have been different. I truly believe that a two-state solution is the only way to ensure a more stable Middle East and to grant Israel the security and well-being it desires. As tensions grow, I cannot but feel that we in the region are on the verge of missing an opportunity — one that we cannot afford to miss. » Read more

Obama at the UN on Israel-Palestine: Good Politics, Poor Diplomacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am If you'd wanted to gauge how strained relations between the Obama administration and the Palestinian leadership have become, all you'd need do is watch the shaking heads of the Palestinian representatives at the United Nations General Assembly during the U.S. President's speech there on Wednesday. Obama reiterated the American commitment to a two-state solution and the creation of an independent Palestine, both established U.S. policy. Rhetorically, however, his speech recognized most of the core elements of the Israeli narrative but virtually none of the Palestinian one. » Read more

Ready for Statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Jonas Gahr Store - (Opinion) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am The main issue before the United Nations General Assembly this week is the Palestinian quest for recognition. Less attention is being paid to a related, and no less important question: Are the Palestinians capable and ready to run a state? » Read more

Netanyahu, Lieberman praise Obama’s U.N. speech, but Palestinians pan it ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked President Obama for his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, but the Palestinians criticized the address. Netanyahu met with Obama at the United Nations on Wednesday afternoon after the president’s speech and reportedly expressed his appreciation for the address. The speech was praised as well by Israel’s hawkish foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman. “I congratulate President Obama, and I am ready to sign on this speech with both hands,” Lieberman said at a news conference. » Read more

Europe's diluted solution to Palestinian aspirations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News by Matthew Price - September 22, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinians' drive to achieve statehood has had diplomats around the world scrambling to decide their positions - not least within the EU, where it is testing the limits of a common foreign policy. The battle started several months ago, and the battleground was Europe. Cables were sent out across the continent's EU member states. Orders were given: lobby high officials, gather the backing of local supporters, flood the media with sympathetic articles. » Read more

Europe's diluted solution to Palestinian aspirations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News by Matthew Price - September 22, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinians' drive to achieve statehood has had diplomats around the world scrambling to decide their positions - not least within the EU, where it is testing the limits of a common foreign policy. The battle started several months ago, and the battleground was Europe. Cables were sent out across the continent's EU member states. Orders were given: lobby high officials, gather the backing of local supporters, flood the media with sympathetic articles. » Read more

U.S. Jews give Obama mixed reviews for 'pro-Israel' UN speech ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - September 22, 2011 - 12:00am It was quite clear that U.S. President Barack Obama's speech, which Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he "would sign with both hands," would draw mixed reactions. Its failure to go into details about the Israeli-Palestinian issue was assumed to be due to a combination of re-election concerns and those of slipping Jewish support. But the U.S. Jewish organizations provided varying - in some cases even polar - responses to the speech. » Read more

Abbas presses Palestinian case with new defiance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet September 22, 2011 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas looks certain to fail in his bid to win United Nations membership for a Palestinian state, but his move has rekindled admiration for him back home, revealing the defiant side of an often understated man. The initiative is fiercely opposed by the United States and his decision to forge ahead has thrust the Palestinian issue to the top of the U.N. agenda, challenging the view of critics who accuse him of yielding too swiftly to foreign pressure. » Read more