Defusing Palestinian Statehood Bid at the UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic
by Hussein Ibish - (Editorial) July 27, 2011 - 12:00am

For most of 2011, Palestinian leaders have been privately and publicly speculating about potential statehood initiatives at the UN General Assembly meeting in September. The PLO may present some plan in effect asking the UN to recognize Palestine as an independent state, which wouldn't make it so, but it would put Israel and the U.S. in a very awkward position. These ideas have been opposed by both Israel and the United States, which have described them as "unilateral," and met with a mixed response among European states.

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UN: Palestinians ready for statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 27, 2011 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) -- The Palestinian Authority is ready to govern a nation but deadlock with Israel has made a two-state solution far from certain, the UN special envoy for the Middle East peace process said Tuesday. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been on hold for 10 months. They broke down shortly after Washington relaunched the first direct negotiations between the two sides for nearly two years.

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Palestinian leader wants rallies to back UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - July 27, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Invoking the Arab Spring, the Palestinian president on Wednesday urged his people to take to the streets for massive rallies in support of his government's bid to get the U.N. to recognize an independent Palestinian state. The call by President Mahmoud Abbas for peaceful, "popular resistance" throughout the West Bank was likely to fuel Israeli concerns that the U.N. vote in September and any large demonstrations could spark a new round of violence.

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Palestinian UN Vote No Longer A Certainty
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In ATFP - July 27, 2011 - 12:00am

As the Palestinians prepare to unveil Thursday a draft of their resolution requesting United Nations’ recognition next month of an independent Palestinian state, many analysts believe such UN action is not inevitable.

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PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Abbas not deterred by U.S. threats regarding Palestinian state recognition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - July 27, 2011 - 12:00am

Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, does not seem deterred by U.S. threats of financial cuts or political castigation if he proceeds with plans to ask the U.N. for recognition of a Palestinian state in September. Abbas Wednesday summoned his Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Council, a 120-strong legislative body in exile, to ask its blessings for his plans.

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Palestinian leader wants rallies to back UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - July 27, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Invoking the Arab Spring, the Palestinian president on Wednesday urged his people to take to the streets for massive rallies in support of his government's bid to get the U.N. to recognize an independent Palestinian state. The call by President Mahmoud Abbas for peaceful, "popular resistance" throughout the West Bank was likely to fuel Israeli concerns that the U.N. vote in September and any large demonstrations could spark a new round of violence.

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Something's Got to Give
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Marwan Muasher - (Opinion) July 27, 2011 - 12:00am

Something -- or someone -- has got to give. With international momentum building for a U.N. resolution recognizing Palestinian statehood, Washington is finally coming to the realization that the Israeli-Palestinian status quo is unsustainable.

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Israel’s ‘threat’ to void the Oslo Accords will only harm Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) July 26, 2011 - 12:00am

On Monday, Barak Ravid revealed to readers of this newspaper that the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem was considering punishing the Palestinians for their declaration of statehood by scrapping the Oslo Accords. Take part in our poll on this topic on the Haaretz.com Facebook page This "threat" is akin to a fellow saying he'll cut off his own nose to spite someone else's face. If the Oslo Accords did not exist, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have had to invent them.

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Encountering Peace: In search of a rational discourse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) July 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Despite the threats of a US veto and a congressional decision to cease US financial support to the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian leadership is resolute to bring the issue of Palestinian statehood to the United Nations.

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Colonising with impunity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) July 26, 2011 - 12:00am

There was hardly any international reaction, or an even Arab reaction for that matter, to the latest Israeli plan to build hundreds of housing units in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority did voice some concern but it was also muted. It is as if the world has become numb when hearing news about Israeli plans to construct yet more and more houses or apartments on Palestinian land even when they are intended to be located in the heart of the Palestinian territory.

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