PMO: PA's UN statehood bid violates Oslo process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon, Tovah Lazaroff - September 20, 2012 - 12:00am

The Prime Minister’s Office warned Thursday that a Palestinian unilateral statehood bid at the UN, along with attempts to set the territorial boundaries of the conflict through a General Assembly resolution, would be a “mistake” and “a blow to the peace process.” “We hope this does not happen,” said Mark Regev, spokesman for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. “The Palestinians committed themselves to resolving all outstanding issues in negotiations, and such a unilateral action would be viewed as a violation.”

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Palestine to Bid For Observer Status at UN General Assembly
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Carnegie Middle East Center
by Yezid Sayigh - (Opinion) September 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Following a month of contradictory statements from various Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, on September 5 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed that he would seek non-member observer status for Palestine at the United Nations when he addresses the General Assembly on September 27. In his announcement, he pointed to support for the bid from the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League's Council of Foreign Ministers and the Islamic states.

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Preparing for the day after
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ben Caspit - (Opinion) September 20, 2012 - 12:00am

It seems that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has begun to understand the extent of the breakdown in our future relationship with Washington. US President Barack Obama emerged this week as a clear front-runner in the polls. In the running for the electoral college delegates to be selected by each state to formally elect the president, his situation is even better. It seems that only a miracle will save Mitt Romney and those who have pinned their hopes on his victory. This is the miracle that Binyamin Netanyahu and Sheldon Adelson are praying for.

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Netanyahu is leading ties with U.S. to the precipice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) September 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu was supposed to be a champion in America. He grew up in America, was educated in America and worked in America. He's an expert on American history, understands the American economy and knows American politics. He thinks in American English, and the thing he really believes in is the uniqueness of America. Most of the people he appreciates are American tycoons and intellectuals.

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Year After Effort at U.N., New Aim for Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - September 20, 2012 - 12:00am

JERICHO, West Bank — One year after the Palestinians’ high-profile failure to win United Nations membership through the Security Council, they are returning to the General Assembly next week seeking largely symbolic “nonmember state” status, with a subdued campaign that many analysts see as a long-shot effort to win back the waning attention of the world.

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Even Real Lobbies Fail Sometimes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Peter Beinart - (Opinion) September 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Why does writing about the Israel lobby make people stupid? By people, I mean both anti-Semites obsessed with Jewish control of the government and smart foreign policy commentators like David Rothkopf, who believes that because pro-Israel Jews don't control the United States government, the Israel lobby is a myth.

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Palestinians Undecided on Timing Of UN Observer Status Bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ayyam
by Hani Habib - September 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Despite the clamor caused by the Palestinian premier when he requested that Palestine be given the status of “observer state” at the United Nations General Assembly, the Palestinian Authority has decided to go forward with this request at the UN. However, the PA is still uncertain of the best way to present this demand, and is hesitant regarding the vote it will undergo.

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Bibi's Chutzpah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Council on Foreign Relations
by Michael Desch - (Opinion) September 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem last week, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed outrage at the refusal of the Obama administration to set "red lines" for Iran's progress on its nuclear program: limits that, if crossed by the Iranians, would trigger U.S. military action against the Islamic Republic. Netanyahu suggested that by not taking a harder line, the United States might fail to persuade Israel to forego a unilateral strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

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Official: 30 years after camp massacre, justice still elusive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 17, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- On the 30th anniversary of the massacre of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon's Sabra and Shatila camp, a Palestinian official stressed that no one has been brought to justice. "Those responsible for slaughtering thousands have not been punished and Palestinian refugees continue to be denied their homeland," PLO official Saeb Erekat said in a statement Sunday.

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Israeli Diplomat Is Man in Middle
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Elisabeth Bumiller - September 17, 2012 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON — With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel engaged in an unusually public dispute with the Obama administration over Iran, Mr. Netanyahu’s man in Washington, Michael B. Oren, has been working rooms all over town.

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