Preparing for the worst, hoping for the best
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - (Opinion) August 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Contrary to the near-hysteric reactions in Jerusalem, defense establishment doesn't believe the world will come to an end. Far from it. What will happen on September 21? Probably not that much. It will be the day after the Palestinian Authority unilaterally declares statehood at the United Nations General Assembly, but contrary to what one might be led to believe by the near-hysteric reactions in Jerusalem, the defense establishment does not believe that the world will come to an end. Far from it.

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When negotiations result in a net loss
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
(Opinion) August 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinians have lost more land to Israel in 20 years and there does not seem to be a wisp of peace on the horizon. The Palestinians have been brought to the negotiating table with the Israelis countless times over the past six decades. The net result has been more usurpation of their land and territory along with civilian casualties to boot.

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Israel's West Bank dilemma
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The San Francisco Chronicle
by Joel Brinkley - (Opinion) August 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Shaul Goldstein knows that most everyone on Earth dislikes him and his kind. For some, it's visceral hatred. For others, he represents the largest obstacle to solving a problem everyone everywhere wants resolved. "We are the enemy of the world," he volunteered without any prompting. "We have to hide behind a curtain."

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Palestinians to Seek UN Statehood Vote Next Month
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Ali Sawafta - August 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will submit an application for full U.N. membership at the General Assembly next month, his foreign minister said on Saturday, without specifying exactly when the request would be made. "I think that the president, when he gets to the United Nations and meets the secretary general, will present the application," Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said in a briefing in Ramallah.

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WEST BANK: Palestinians determined to get more recognition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - August 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority is doubling its efforts to get as many countries to recognize it before September, when it plans to officially ask the United Nations for recognition and membership. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Malki said on Saturday that “we have made very important breakthroughs, but we need to do more and build on what we have achieved so far.”

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Abbas, Peres held '4 secret meetings'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
August 13, 2011 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas revealed he held four secret meetings with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres in a bid to revive stalled peace talks, a Palestinian official said Saturday. He quoted Abbas as saying at a meeting of his Fatah party on Friday that: "I met Shimon Peres four times in Amman and London in an attempt to restart negotiations and the peace process on a correct foundation." The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had thwarted those efforts.

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Israeli leaders in hysterics ahead of September
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) August 12, 2011 - 12:00am

As the UN vote on Palestinian statehood within the June 4, 1967 borders approaches, Israel's government is showing increasing symptoms of hysteria.

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Abbas says seeking Palestinian state without settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - August 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met Thursday with a US Democratic Congressional delegation currently visiting the region, telling them that he is seeking a Palestinian state without settlements, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. According to the report, Abbas told the visiting legislators that regarding paths to statehood, his "first, second and third choice" is negotiations, but added that he does not see going to the United Nations to seek recognition of statehood as being contradictory "with the essence of the peace process."

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Hoyer: Abbas, Fayyad sent mixed messages on UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - August 12, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian leadership sent mixed messages to a Democratic Congressional delegation visiting Ramallah, with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad saying that no decision on the UN bid in September has been finalized, while PA President Mahmoud Abbas gave the impression that going to the UN was a done deal. "Fayyad said that the decision to go to the UN had not been made, in other words had not been finalized, which we were pleased to hear," US Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MA), the head of the delegation, told The Jerusalem Post shortly after the talks.

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Israel prepares for Palestinian statehood rallies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Daniella Cheslow - August 11, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israeli security forces are importing horses, water cannons, tear-gas launchers and a nauseating noise machine to control crowds if they become violent at Palestinian protests planned next month to support their bid for U.N. endorsement of statehood. Israel hopes the measures will avoid casualties among demonstrators.

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