September 1st

Diplomats: EU split on support of Palestinians' UN statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
September 1, 2011 - 12:00am

The European Union remains undecided whether to recognize the Palestinian push for recognition at the United Nations, diplomats said Thursday. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Thursday the question remained "hypothetical" because no resolution had been tabled yet. Ashton said the EU's 28 members were united "over the most critical issue, which is to try to get the talks moving," and reiterated the bloc's position that Israeli settlement-building in the occupied territories is illegal under international law.

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Sarkozy wants united EU voice on Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday he wanted to see a united European Union voice on the issue of Palestinian statehood at next month's United Nations General Assembly and urged Washington to do more for peace. "The 27 countries of the European Union must express themselves with one voice," Sarkozy said in an opening speech to an annual conference of French ambassadors. "The role of the U.S. is uncontested and irreplaceable, but everybody sees that it is not enough. We have to widen the circle of negotiation, think of the role and pertinence of the quartet."

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Israel braces for Palestinian statehood bid at United Nations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel is preparing security forces as well as diplomatic and legal responses for a planned Palestinian bid this month for admission as a state to the United Nations, but officials say they do not expect a major eruption of unrest as a result of the move. Despite intensive Israeli diplomatic efforts to head off U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, a senior official involved in shaping the Israeli response said the government is resigned to the General Assembly endorsing the move later this month.

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Activists Aim to Revitalize Israeli Protests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - September 1, 2011 - 12:00am

For many Israelis, the size of Saturday night’s protests against the high cost of living and for social justice will serve as a barometer of whether the popular movement that began in this Mediterranean city and swept the country this summer is thriving or fading. After six weeks of tent encampments and rallies featuring popular singers that drew as many as 300,000 people into the streets on the first Saturday in August, the Sept. 3 rally has been described by its promoters as a million-person march.

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August 31st

NEWS: Israel is gambling that increased Egyptian troop presence in Sinai will restore order. Israel's finance minister says the Palestinian UN initiative is a “bigger threat” than Hamas. The West Bank and Gaza find themselves in different time zones this Ramadan. Israel is again withholding Palestinian tax revenues. Israel's Knesset speaker says he believes all the land, including the occupied territories, “is ours in its entirety.” Surfers and runners in Gaza train in spite of difficulties. A US citizen pleads guilty to spying for Israel. Muslim members of Congress call for the release of a captured Israeli soldier. Jordan has reportedly asked the Palestinian leadership to reconsider any UN initiative. COMMENTARY: Zvi Bar'el says the Israeli-Egyptian alliance is one between two juntas. Amira Hass says everything is in place for another Palestinian uprising. Israel's former ambassador in South Africa says Israel is facing the "South Africanization" of the conflict. Abraham Katsman says non-Jewish Republicans are outbidding Jewish Democrats on Israel in American elections. The National says Israel needs more than weapons. Meryl Chertoff and Samah A. Norquist say more Jewish and Arab-American dialogue is needed on Palestine and many issues. Israeli ambassador Michael Oren says a UN initiative could invalidate the Oslo Agreements.

Jordan urges Abbas to rethink UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Jordan has appealed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and asked him to reconsider the PA's nearing bid for UN recognition, Saudi Arabia's al-Madinah newspaper reported on Tuesday. According to the report, Jordan views the move as dangerous and as one that may compromise the Palestinians' assertion of the right of return.

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American Muslims Call for Gilad Shalit's Release
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

A group of prominent American Muslims issued a letter urging Hamas to immediately release captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The Aug. 26 letter’s 11 signatories include the two Muslim members of Congress – Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Andre Carson (D-IN) – as well as Muslim academics and communal figures. “We believe Hamas’ harsh treatment and five-year detention of Shalit is wrong,” the Muslim leaders wrote in their letter, which was addressed to Khaled Mashal, the Syrian-based chairman of Hamas’ political bureau.

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Israeli Amb.: Palestinian statehood vote could end all PA agreements with Israel and the U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Josh Rogin - (Analysis) August 30, 2011 - 12:00am

If the Palestinians go forward with their drive to seek recognition as a state at the U.N. General Assembly next month, all agreements governing Israeli-Palestinian and U.S.-Palestinian cooperation could become null and void, according to Israel's ambassador to the United States.

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High-tech worker pleads guilty to spying for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

(JTA) -- A former employee of a Boston-area high-tech company pleaded guilty to handing over trade secrets to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer. Elliot Doxer, 43, who formerly worked for Akamai Technologies Inc., pleaded guilty to one count of foreign economic espionage Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Akamai provides technology for delivering content over the Internet using remote or cloud services.

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Stay the Course on Interfaith Dialogue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Meryl Chertoff, Samah Norquist - (Opinion) August 29, 2011 - 12:00am

If all goes according to current reports, some time in September, the Palestinian Authority will submit a resolution declaring statehood to the Security Council of the United Nations. While the United States and possibly other Council members are widely expected to veto the resolution, the PA may take its case to the General Assembly, where the US does not have a veto. A vote in support of the resolution there, while not binding, would pave the way for member nations to recognize a Palestinian state.

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