NEWS: The US and Israel are trying to limit the impact of the PLO's mission status upgrade at the UN. Palestinians are certain of victory in today's vote, and will get support from at least 13 European states. Surprisingly, Germany and Australia indicate both will probably abstain rather than voting no. Israeli officials are quoted as saying, "we lost Europe." PM Netanyahu says the vote will make it more difficult for Palestinians to achieve statehood. Former PM Olmert says is no reason for Israel to oppose the resolution. Settlers call for massive annexation of occupied territories in "retaliation." Republican senators issue language calling for further aid cuts to the PA in "retaliation." Hamas revives calls for a restructured PLO in which it can play a leading role. Israeli naval forces seize to fishing vessels off the coast of Gaza, throwing claims of eased fishing limitations into doubt. Palestinians executed as "collaborators" with Israel during the recent conflict were reportedly in custody before the violence began. Pro-Israel advocates are facing new setbacks at several American universities. COMMENTARY: ATFP executive director Ghaith Al-Omari and David Makovsky of WINEP analyze the repercussions of the PLO UN bid. The New York Times says it won't bring Palestinians any closer to statehood and resumption of negotiations is urgently required. The Washington Post says Palestinians may achieve an empty triumph at the UN. Nabil Sha'ath appeals to the international community to support the Palestinian initiative. Hanan Ashrawi says a vote for the resolution is a vote for peace. The Guardian says the resolution gives the UN a chance for a fresh start. Israeli Amb. Oren says Hamas deliberately tries to maximize civilian casualties. J.J. Goldberg says the Palestinians are sounding increasingly reasonable but Israel isn't. Leonard Fein says the resolution defends the two-state solution and should be supported by Jews. The National says the UN bid shows Israel increasingly isolated. Ephraim Sneh says the initiative is good for Israel and the United States. Mark Leon Goldberg says Israel needn't fear charges against its officials at the ICC.

Who's Afraid Of The ICC?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Mark Leon Goldberg - (Opinion) November 28, 2012 - 1:00am

Tomorrow, the United Nations General Assembly will vote overwhelmingly to upgrade Palestine’s status from “Permanent Observer Entity” to “Non-Member State Permanent Observer.” This seemingly banal change in nomenclature may have profound consequences in the West Bank and Israel, but it will not make much of a noticeable difference at the U.N. itself. 

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Pro-Israel Strategy Faces Campus Setbacks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Seth Berkman - November 29, 2012 - 1:00am

When the student government legislature at the University of California, Irvine voted unanimously for an anti-Israel divestment measure recently, the vote was not just a setback to the pro-Israel cause — it appeared to throw into question a broad new approach that some pro-Israel advocates have been promoting to move discourse on Israel, as they put it, “beyond the conflict.”

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Executed Gaza 'collaborators' were in custody before war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 29, 2012 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Seven Palestinians who were accused of spying for Israel and publicly executed during the latest assault on Gaza were already in jail when the war started, and several had been held for more than a year. Masked gunmen shot the alleged collaborators in two public attacks at the height of Israel's eight-day bombardment of Gaza, killing one person on Nov. 16 and another six people on Nov. 20.

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Israel Seizes 2 Gaza Boats Near New Offshore Limit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram, Jodi Rudoren - November 28, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA — Despite an Israeli concession to permit Gazans to fish up to six nautical miles from shore rather than three, Israeli forces detained a Palestinian fisherman and seized two boats as their crews tried to venture farther into the Mediterranean Sea. Hamas, the militant faction that controls Gaza, denounced the action as a threat to the week-old cease-fire agreement that ended eight days of cross-border violence.

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State of Confusion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Ephraim Sneh - (Opinion) November 28, 2012 - 1:00am

The Israel-Hamas war has refocused international attention on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and increased the stakes surrounding U.S. President Barack Obama's handling of the Palestinian bid for recognition at the United Nations as a non-member state. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas intends to submit that bid on November 29th -- the 65th anniversary of the U.N.

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Palestinians' UN bid confirms Israel's isolation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) November 29, 2012 - 1:00am

  Today in New York, the United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to vote on upgrading the status of Palestine at the international body. The numbers look good and short of an unexpected upset, Palestinians will probably be granted "observer" status at the world body, similar to the Vatican.

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Hamas Chief Revives Talk of Reuniting With P.L.O.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Anne Barnard - November 28, 2012 - 1:00am

BEIRUT, Lebanon — On the eve of the United Nations vote on whether to declare the Palestinian Authority a nonmember state, the leader of Hamas revived a long-percolating proposal for his militant party to join the Palestine Liberation Organization, the group that, with Israel, signed the Oslo Accord, which Hamas has long derided.

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Why Jews Should Back Palestinian U.N. Bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) November 28, 2012 - 1:00am

I rather doubt that more than a few of those whose knees have jerked in opposition to the planned request by the PLO that its status at the United Nations be upgraded have actually read the resolution. Instead, they rely on Israel’s bitter opposition and on America’s predictable opposition.

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Who Stands Against Peace?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) November 29, 2012 - 1:00am

The last days of November 2012 were an awkward time for Israel in the international arena. After years of presenting itself as the reasonable party in the conflict, saddled with a Palestinian negotiating partner that won’t negotiate, its ruling Likud party wound up a two-day Knesset primary vote on November 26 by choosing a slate of candidates dominated by hard-line rightists who oppose Israeli-Palestinian compromise and reject Palestinian statehood.

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