Israel minister: US will veto Palestine declaration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

An Israeli official said Tuesday that the US will use its veto if the UN Security Council decides to vote on approving an independent Palestinian state. The US supports negotiations rather than unilateral steps, Israeli minister Uzi Landau said in an Israel radio report. Israel should announce the annexation of several huge settlement outposts and the Jordan Valley if the Palestinians announce statehood at the UN, he continued. Israel must put also an end to the "war of attrition" that Hamas is waging against Israel, according to Landau.

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Partial West Bank pullout can't stop Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is assimilating too slowly the possibility - he calls it a danger - that come September, the world will recognize an independent Palestinian state.

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Palestinians seek $5 billion for state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will brief Western representatives in Brussels on Wednesday on his bid for nearly $5 billion in investment to launch a Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority's three-year development plan, obtained by Reuters, requires $1.467 billion this year, $1.754 billion in 2012 and $1.596 billion for 2013. "We have distributed the plan to the donors and they have welcomed it," Palestinian Planning Minister Ali al-Jarbawi said. The plan will be presented formally to donor countries at a pledging conference in June, he said.

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'Blair to endorse Palestinian state at Brussels parley'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Quartet envoy Tony Blair was set to present a report in Brussels on Wednesday endorsing a future Palestinian state, the London Times reported.

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Palestinians build support for statehood at Brussels meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinians accelerated their drive toward statehood recognition at an international meeting in Brussels Wednesday, but it comes amid worry that Middle East unrest may further complicate prospects for peace by altering the regional landscape. With peace talks with Israel already mothballed, Palestinians are pursuing a United Nations vote on statehood in September – a goal that seems more likely after foreign donors heard upbeat endorsements of the Palestinian Authority's (PA) ability to govern a sovereign state.

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Fayyad claims 'birth certificate' for Palestinian statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Caretaker prime minister Salam Fayyad said Wednesday that UN endorsement of his administration's readiness to govern amounted to "a birth certificate" for statehood. Fayyad made the claim after the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process said in a report that the Palestinian Authority was "sufficient for a functioning government of a state."

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UN: PA progress 'sufficient for functioning govt of a state'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 12, 2011 - 12:00am

A UN report on progress by the Palestinian Authority in building institutions released Tuesday assessed that "in six areas where the UN is most engaged, government functions are now sufficient for a functioning government of a state." The report, prepared by UN officials for an upcoming meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee in Brussels, reviews progress in the implementation of the PA's August 2009 plan to build state institutions, which was backed by the AHLC and Quartet.

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U.N. Praises Palestinians’ Progress Toward a State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - April 12, 2011 - 12:00am

The United Nations praised Palestinian Authority efforts at strengthening its institutions in a report on Tuesday, describing aspects of its administration as sufficient for an independent state. The endorsement came at a crucial time for the Palestinian Authority, which has set a September deadline for the completion of its state-building program and is working toward international recognition of Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem that month.

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U.N. report: Palestinian Authority ready for statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - April 12, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority is ready for statehood, according to six key criteria, although urgent action is needed to bolster its progress in state-building, the United Nations said Tuesday. The declaration, contained in a report prepared for a meeting Wednesday in Brussels of donors to the authority, is an important boost to Palestinian efforts to obtain international recognition of a Palestinian state in September.

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PA: State will be ready by September
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 11, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority's Minister of Planning and Development announced Monday the government's "national readiness to establish an independent Palestinian state during September." Minister Ali Al-Jerbawi said the announcement came in line with the successful implementation of the 13th government's plan, "Ending the Occupation, Establishing a State," put out by the now caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in August 2009.

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