September 23rd

Bill Clinton: Netanyahu killed the peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Josh Rogin - (Analysis) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am Who's to blame for the continued failure of the Middle East peace process? Former President Bill Clinton said today that it is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- whose government moved the goalposts upon taking power, and whose rise represents a key reason there has been no Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. » Read more

A dangerous erosion of Israel’s international standing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - (Blog) September 23, 2011 - 12:00am In 1955 Ben-Gurion coined his saying “Um-Shmum”, the expression of disdain against the UN that was followed by: “It doesn’t matter what the Goyim say, but what the Jews do”. This may have been charming when Israel was a young country, and when Dayan’s not wearing a tie was seen as refreshing chutzpah. The disdain for the international community is now turning into Israel’s tragedy and failure with the Palestinian bid for UN recognition. » Read more

Abbas stands to gain from UN gambit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Karin Laub - (Analysis) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, WEST BANK — The drama over the Palestinians' bid for U.N. recognition is still unfolding, but President Mahmoud Abbas appears to have won new respect at home for standing up to the United States and moving their decades-long quest for statehood back to the center of the world stage. Recognition of Palestine — even in a possible watered-down form, since full U.N. membership is blocked by a certain U.S. veto — won't bring the Palestinians true independence anytime soon. It might not even be enough to improve their hoped-for leverage in future border talks with Israel. » Read more

U.N.convenient Truth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by James Verini - (Analysis) September 23, 2011 - 12:00am In 1988, Abba Eban, perhaps the finest diplomat and one of the sharpest minds Israel has ever produced, got up before a distinguished crowd in London to give an address with the predictable and yet absurd title, "Prospects for Peace in the Middle East." Predictable not just in itself, but because Eban and other Israeli leaders had delivered countless such addresses in the 40 unpeaceful years since the country's creation; absurd because his remarks, which concerned Palestine, came a year into the First Intifada. » Read more

The US elections and pandering to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet by Bernd Debusmann - (Opinion) September 23, 2011 - 12:00am So much for charges from conservative contenders for the 2012 U.S. presidential elections that Barack Obama is not pro-Israel enough -- the president just won seals of approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his far-right foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, and the U.S. lobby that usually reflects their views. If the elections, as some predict, will include a contest on who loves Israel most, Obama can use their praise to good effect. How much it will contribute to his legacy is another matter. » Read more

Palestinian delegation reacts angrily to Obama's UN speech ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Ali El-saleh - (Analysis) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am New York, Asharq Al-Awsat – The feeling amongst the members of the Palestinian delegation to the UN in New York ranged from resentment to outright anger following the speech given by US President Barack Obama yesterday. As for French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s speech to the UN, this was received with praise and applause from the Palestinian delegation. » Read more

The Do-Nothing Strategy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Aaron David Miller - (Analysis) September 23, 2011 - 12:00am Governing is about choosing. And a much-diminished American president has made his choice. Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking isn't and shouldn't be Barack Obama's top priority. Getting reelected is. And that means carefully husbanding his eroding political currency and expending it on matters domestic and economic. Despite all the kerfuffle at the United Nations this week, the last thing he needs to do is pick an unproductive fight with Israel or the Republicans on an Israeli-Palestinian peace process that has been dead for some time now. » Read more

Could a U.N. Upgrade Help the Palestinians Prosecute Israeli Officials? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) September 23, 2011 - 12:00am Would a Palestinian state recognized by the United Nations have the right to bring legal action against Israel and Israeli officials at the International Criminal Court or the U.N.'s own International Court of Justice? » 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 23, 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

Palestinians vent anger at U.S. over statehood issue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News by Sheera Frenkel - (Analysis) September 22, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian protesters burned effigies of President Barack Obama and stomped on U.S. flags Thursday in one of the largest recent displays of anti-American sentiment here, sparked by the United States' pledge to veto any request for U.N. membership for a Palestinian state. Gathered outside the residence of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who's expected to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Friday, the protesters denounced Obama, whom they accused of siding with Israel in the lengthy impasse over peace negotiations. » Read more