U.S. Scrambles to Avert Palestinian Vote at U.N.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by David Kirkpatrick - September 14, 2011 - 12:00am

The United States faced increasing pressure on Tuesday as the Palestinian quest for statehood gained support from Turkey and other countries, even as the Obama administration sought an 11th-hour compromise that would avoid a confrontation at the United Nations next week. With only days to go before world leaders gather in New York, the maneuvering became an exercise in brinkmanship as the administration wrestles with roiling tensions in the region, including a sharp deterioration of relations between three of its closest allies in the region: Egypt, Israel and Turkey.

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Israel warns of 'harsh' consequences of Palestinian UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Hardline Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned Wednesday there will be "harsh and grave consequences" if the Palestinians persist with their plan to seek UN membership as a state. Speaking shortly before a scheduled meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Lieberman did not elaborate on the possible consequences. "The moment has not yet come to give details of what will happen," he said. In the past he has called for Israel to sever all relations with the administration of President Mahmoud Abbas should it press on with its UN bid.

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PLO official voices criticism of UN membership plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 14, 2011 - 12:00am

PLO central council member Nabil Amr said Tuesday that the Palestinian request for full UN membership is not a "bid" but rather a diplomatic activity. The former ambassador to Egypt expressed reservations over the plan to seek state membership of the United Nations at the annual General Assembly meeting in New York, which opens on Monday. Speaking at a seminar in Hebron, Amr said vows by the US President Barack Obama and the Middle East Quartet to establish a Palestinian state were nothing more than promises.

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Pro-Israel groups defend US aid to Palestinian Authority
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Worried about possible US aid cuts to the Palestinian Authority, some American Jewish groups find themselves in the peculiar position of defending the funding, particularly money that supports PA security forces. The US Congress has threatened to review the roughly $500 million in annual aid to the PA if the Palestinians seek full membership at the United Nations, a step opposed by Israel and the United States.

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Gazans have mixed feelings over Abbas U.N bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Nidal al-Mughrabi - September 14, 2011 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas's bid to seek U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state is not generating much enthusiasm in the isolated Gaza Strip, where internal political divisions run deep. The Islamist Hamas movement, which seized the territory from forces loyal to Abbas's Fatah group in 2007, sees the move as an exercise in futility in a quest for statehood.

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Palestinians trying to dodge pre-UN vote face-off with Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - September 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Statements made Tuesday by Mohammad Shtayyeh, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, regarding the Palestinian Authority's intention to address the UN Security Council, in addition to its General Assembly, were not surprising. Just three days ago Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas himself said that the Palestinians will turn to the Security Council, and will not be content to deal with the General Assembly.

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Arabs pledge to lobby for Palestinian UN membership
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Arab foreign ministers agreed in a meeting attended by President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday to marshal support for a Palestinian bid for UN membership this month despite Israeli and US opposition. Abbas, who backed out of US-sponsored negotiations with Israel because of its settlement construction in occupied Palestinian lands, is expected to make the request when the UN General Assembly opens on September 20.

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Pro-Palestinian activists in U.S. optimistic about UN vote
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Blog) September 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Despite the rapid unraveling of Israeli ties with both Turkey and Egypt, September is still seen as the month that would precipitate a “diplomatic tsunami" as a result of the impending UN vote on Palestinian statehood, letting the fact that two Israeli ambassadors were forced to leave neighboring countries take a distant backseat.

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Salam Fayyad's bid to prepare Palestine for statehood dying after foreign aid dries up
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - September 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Two years after launching an ambitious plan to trim bureaucracy and root out corruption, Salam Fayyad's "good government" initiative aimed at preparing Palestinian institutions for statehood is stagnant and dying. As the deadline to meet his goals came and went last month, a moment of pride for the Palestinian Authority prime minister and his attempt to foster Palestinian independence has become a disappointment.

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Palestinians Pressured to Seek General Assembly Vote on Statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by David Kirkpatrick - September 13, 2011 - 12:00am

A top negotiator for the Palestinian Authority said Tuesday night that its leadership was weighing the strong urging of both the Arab states and the Europeans to turn to the General Assembly of the United Nations — and not its Security Council — in a bid to win international recognition as a state.

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