Palestinian leadership considering French proposals on peace process: official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 22, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian leadership is studying ideas proposed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to revive peace talks with Israel, a senior official said Thursday. Sarkozy's ideas, revealed Wednesday in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, aim at defusing an increasing tension between the United States and the Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) over the latter's plan to request a full UN membership. » Read more

PLO to give UN council time to mull bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 22, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian leadership -- despite firm US and Israeli opposition -- will give the UN Security Council "some time" to study their application for full membership in the United Nations, a senior Palestinian official said on Wednesday. He also said the Palestinian delegation would politely reject US President Barack Obama's demand in his UN General Assembly speech on Wednesday that the Palestinians drop their bid for membership in the United Nations, a plan that is doomed to failure if Washington keeps its promise to veto it. » Read more

Taking a Stand, and Shedding Arafat’s Shadow ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner, Neil MacFarquhar - September 21, 2011 - 12:00am At the baronial Morgan Library in Midtown Manhattan the other night, President Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, stood quietly along the edge of a diplomatic reception, avoiding the animated gossip and flowing Champagne. Only when the host noted that Mr. Abbas was in the room, and expressed hope that his quest for Palestinian membership in the United Nations would produce real sovereignty, did the crowd take notice. » Read more

Obama Rebuffed as Palestinians Pursue U.N. Seat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Helene Cooper, Steven Lee Myers - September 21, 2011 - 12:00am A last-ditch American effort to head off a Palestinian bid for membership in the United Nations faltered. President Obama tried to qualify his own call, just a year ago, for a Palestinian state. And President Nicolas Sarkozy of France stepped forcefully into the void, with a proposal that pointedly repudiated Mr. Obama’s approach. The extraordinary tableau Wednesday at the United Nations underscored a stark new reality: the United States is facing the prospect of having to share, or even cede, its decades-long role as the architect of Middle East peacemaking. » Read more