Abbas says Palestinian UN bid came after Israel rebuffed int'l treaties
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
September 1, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinians decided to approach the United Nations for recognition after Israel refused to abide by the international agreements and laws, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday. "Approaching the UN is not an alternative to the peace talks," Abbas was quoted by the Palestinian official news agency Wafa as saying, "it is an opportunity to get out of the current impasse that the peace process is facing due to the Israeli policy of settlement." Abbas made the remarks at a meeting held at his Ramallah headquarters with Rabbi Menahim Fruman, according Wafa.

»

‘Acceptance of PA’s UN bid will push back talks for years’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - September 1, 2011 - 12:00am

A UN General Assembly resolution recognizing the Palestinian Authority as a nonmember state would create “unbridgeable gaps” and push back negotiations for years, a senior Israeli official warned Wednesday. The official said that once such a resolution was passed, the Palestinians would never be willing to negotiate on the basis of anything less, and no Israeli leader would ever be able to agree to what the Palestinians would likely get from the UN. He said that such a move would be a “strategic mistake by the world,” and said this was well understood by the US.

»

Does the Palestinian UN bid threaten refugee rights?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Opinion) September 1, 2011 - 12:00am

As the leadership in Ramallah prepares to approach the UN for membership in September, it is also fighting back charges that its initiative is shortsighted and even a threat to Palestinian refugees. Last week Ma'an published for the first time findings by an international law expert that the gambit could alter the PLO's status as the sole representative of the Palestinian people. The legal opinion, by Guy Goodwin-Gill of Oxford University, argued that the Diaspora could be left disenfranchised if this happened.

»

Can Netanyahu still engage with Palestinians' UN bid?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) September 1, 2011 - 12:00am

A few days ago Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor informed the Foreign Ministry that Israel has no chance to stop UN recognition of Palestine. This didn’t really surprise anybody. Defense Minister Ehud Barak already months ago warned of the “diplomatic tsunami” Israel would face in September.

»

Whose side is Ahmadinejad on?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) September 1, 2011 - 12:00am

After reading an article by the Scripps Howard News Service suggesting that “if Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not on Israel’s payroll, he should be,” one reader responded: “Don’t forget to mention that Ahmadinejad is Jewish and possibly an undercover agent for Isreal [sic].” Some double agent; Ahmadinejad continues to be an outspoken booster for Palestinian statehood – perhaps a bit too outspoken, as when he declared last week that the creation of a Palestinian state would be “the first step” in the eradication of the Jewish state.

»

Israel must get ready for its own Hurricane Irene
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Opinion) August 31, 2011 - 12:00am




Israeli weapons cannot prevail on their own
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

If Palestinian protesters cross a "red line" around a settlement, the advice is to shoot at their feet. What kind of damage-control policy is that? But those are the instructions that the Israel Defence Forces are giving soldiers preparing for the "mass disorder" expected next month, reported the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. At the same time, the Israeli government is stockpiling anti-riot weapons at settlements, which are already armed to the teeth, in anticipation of trouble.

»

Jordan urges Abbas to rethink UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Jordan has appealed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and asked him to reconsider the PA's nearing bid for UN recognition, Saudi Arabia's al-Madinah newspaper reported on Tuesday. According to the report, Jordan views the move as dangerous and as one that may compromise the Palestinians' assertion of the right of return.

»

Israel braces for Palestinian statehood bid at United Nations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel is preparing security forces as well as diplomatic and legal responses for a planned Palestinian bid this month for admission as a state to the United Nations, but officials say they do not expect a major eruption of unrest as a result of the move. Despite intensive Israeli diplomatic efforts to head off U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, a senior official involved in shaping the Israeli response said the government is resigned to the General Assembly endorsing the move later this month.

»

Sarkozy wants united EU voice on Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 31, 2011 - 12:00am

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday he wanted to see a united European Union voice on the issue of Palestinian statehood at next month's United Nations General Assembly and urged Washington to do more for peace. "The 27 countries of the European Union must express themselves with one voice," Sarkozy said in an opening speech to an annual conference of French ambassadors. "The role of the U.S. is uncontested and irreplaceable, but everybody sees that it is not enough. We have to widen the circle of negotiation, think of the role and pertinence of the quartet."

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017