August 9th

PM lobbies world envoys against Palestinian statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - August 9, 2011 - 12:00am Israel is prepared to make concessions, but the Palestinians have shown no indication of a willingness on their own for compromise, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday to a group of 18 ambassadors to Washington from Asian, European, African and Latin American countries who don’t usually vote for Israel at the UN. “Six prime ministers, including myself, have come out in support of a Palestinian state, and two offered far-reaching concessions, but this hasn’t helped,” Netanyahu said, in a reference to the concessions offered by Ehud Barak in 2000, and Ehud Olmert in 2008. » Read more

Arab states to head UN in September ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - August 9, 2011 - 12:00am Two Arab states will head the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly in September, the month which is expected to see a vote on recognition for a Palestinian state. Lebanon will serve as president of the Security Council in September and Qatar will head the General Assembly for one year as of next month. The Security Council has five permanent member states with veto power (The United States, Russia, China, France and Britain) but Arab states are invariably represented among the 10 remaining rotating states. » Read more

Palestinians study UN status options ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 9, 2011 - 12:00am Permanent Palestinian observer to the United Nations Riyad Mansour said Tuesday that the option of changing Palestine's status from "observer entity" to a "non-member state" is still being studied. Mansour told the Italian news agency AKI that becoming a non-member state "does not invalidate the right to become a member state as recommended by several UN resolutions such as resolution 181 in 1947." The ultimate goal would be to obtain full UN membership like South Sudan, he said, however if that objective is not met then Palestine would seek a status similar to that of the Vatican. » Read more

August 8th

No countries for old men ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Steve White - (Opinion) August 5, 2011 - 12:00am After serving nearly six years as the special advisor to the United States Security Coordinator (USSC) for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, I came home convinced of one thing, cognizant of another. The first was that a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not only in the vital security interests of Israel and the future state of Palestine, but also the United States. The second, initially noted two years ago by a former IDF Chief of Staff, was that, "The USSC, the IDF and the Palestinian Security Services were buying time, time for the politicians.... » Read more

Intifada of candles not tears ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by As'ad Abdul Rahman - (Opinion) August 6, 2011 - 12:00am It is almost a reality now that neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis see any possibility of resuming peace negotiations following recent speeches by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the US Congress and the Jewish lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac). With a clear voice and determination, Netanyahu annihilated all possibilities of establishing two independent states; Israel and a Palestinian state peacefully co-existing and equally thriving together. » Read more

Where do Palestnians figure in the Israeli cry for 'social justice'? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Mira Sucharov - (Blog) August 8, 2011 - 12:00am With the four-week old Israeli cost-of-living tent protests swelling in intensity -- capped by 300,000 demonstrators taking to the streets on Saturday night - I am fascinated by the fact that the term “social justice” has become a household word. The official slogan of the demonstrations -- “The nation demands social justice!” (Ha’Am doresh tzedek chevrati!) - involves the headiest and most ethereal of concepts. But commentators have been rightly asking whether the use of the term “social justice” is deserved. » Read more

Some lessons gleaned from living with the Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Advertiser-Tribune by Paulette Schroeder - (Opinion) August 8, 2011 - 12:00am How strangely I'm ending my time in Palestine. Having lived three years in Hebron, Palestine, I find that I'm surprised but finally keen to what it really means to be a citizen of the United States. At the same time, I've come to appreciate more clearly what it means for me to be Christian in our world today. » Read more

Israel's "empty promise" won't stop Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua (Opinion) August 5, 2011 - 12:00am BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- As Israel extended an olive branch to the Palestinians by renewing peace negotiations, the Palestinians said Israel can not halt their bid for recognition of a full membership in the United Nations and of a Palestinian state within the lines that existed prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. EMPTY PROMISE » Read more

Palestinian FM: A wave of international recognition on the way ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Ali El-saleh - (Opinion) August 7, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki has stated to Asharq Al-Awsat that a wave of international recognition of the state of Palestine will take place in the next few weeks, adding that Honduras and South Sudan will be on top of the states that will recognize the Palestinian state. According to Al-Maliki, Honduras will announce its recognition of the Palestinian state on 20 August in spite of the angry reaction by Tel Aviv. » Read more

Israel's Arab citizens must join the social struggle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Oudeh Basharat - (Opinion) August 8, 2011 - 12:00am In days gone by there were long lines of cars at the gas stations on the eve of a rise in prices. The late comedian Dudu Topaz ridiculed the Israeli citizen who "puts one over" on the state by stocking up before the price increase, opportunistic individualism was at its zenith, and people used elbows energetically to obtain yet one more cheap liter of fuel. » Read more