GOP senators introduce proposed penalties for enhanced Palestinian status
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
November 29, 2012 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Republican U.S. senators introduced the first efforts to penalize the Palestinians and the United Nations should the body affirm enhanced Palestinian status. Language proposed this week as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would cut assistance to the Palestinians by 50 percent and U.S. fees to the United Nations by the same amount should the effort by the Palestinians to gain recognition as a non-member observer state succeed in the General Assembly. It would also cut by 20 percent U.S. aid to any country voting to approve.

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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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U.N. Assembly, in Blow to U.S., Elevates Status of Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - November 29, 2012 - 1:00am

UNITED NATIONS — More than 130 countries voted on Thursday to upgrade Palestine

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Israel’s Antimissile System Attracts Potential Buyers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thom Shanker - November 29, 2012 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON — The success cited by Israel

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Palestinians certain to win recognition as a state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Edith M. Lederer - November 29, 2012 - 1:00am

UNITED NATIONS —The Palestinians are certain to win U.N. recognition as a state Thursday but success could exact a high price: Israel and the United States warn it could delay hopes of achieving an independent Palestinian state through peace talks with Israel. The United States, Israel's closest ally, mounted an aggressive campaign to head off the General Assembly vote. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defiantly declared Thursday that the Palestinians would have to back down from long-held positions if they ever hope to gain independence.

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Germany to abstain from UN Palestine vote
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
November 29, 2012 - 1:00am

BERLIN (Reuters) -- Germany said it would abstain in a vote on Thursday at the UN General Assembly on changing the Palestinian Authority's diplomatic status, citing fears that it could be counterproductive to the peace process. "We did not take this decision lightly. Germany shares the goal of a Palestinian state ... but the decisive steps towards real statehood can only be the result of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians," Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement.

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Gaza factions to join rally supporting UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 28, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – Representatives of all Palestinian factions on Tuesday held a meeting in Gaza City during which all factions agreed to organize a joint rally raising Palestinian flags only to show support to the Palestinian statehood bid. Member of the politburo of the Palestinian People’s Party Walid al-Awad told Ma’an that factions would submit a memo to the government in Gaza about the rally, planned for Thursday.

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Spain to recognize Palestinian state at UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
November 28, 2012 - 1:00am

MADRID — Spain's foreign minister says Spain will vote in favor of recognition of a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly this week.

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Palestine: theatricals at the UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
(Editorial) November 28, 2012 - 1:00am

A "crashing wave of applause" filled the hall in which the general assembly was meeting in Flushing Meadow Park, the temporary headquarters of the new United Nations, when the French representative voted for the resolution which partitioned Palestine. The French vote was taken as a signal that the resolution would prevail. "The chamber," wrote Alistair Cooke, our correspondent, "was crackling with currents of elation and despair."

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Israel won't punish Palestinians for UN statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - November 28, 2012 - 1:00am

Avigdor Lieberman was asked on Tuesday during a closed meeting what will happen tomorrow night. The questioner hoped to hear the foreign minster's assessment of the vote due to be held in the UN General Assembly on recognizing Palestine as a non-member observer state, but Lieberman replied with typical cynicism: "It will be a good soccer game."

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