Barghouti urges Palestinian march to back U.N. bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Tom Perry - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 20 (Reuters) - Jailed leader Marwan Barghouti has called on Palestinians to stage mass rallies in September in support of a diplomatic bid to gain U.N. membership for a state of Palestine. Barghouti, a figure widely respected among many Palestinians, said taking the statehood quest to the United Nations was part of a new strategy that would open the door to "peaceful, popular resistance".

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EU 'disappointed' in settlement construction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
July 20, 2011 - 12:00am

The European Union on Tuesday expressed "great disappointment" in a tender issued by the Construction and Housing Ministry this week for the construction of 6,900 housing units, including some 300 units in the settlements of Beitar Illit and Karnei Shomron. Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the EU's foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, said that such acts go against the international community's ongoing efforts to form a peaceful solution which will maintain Israel's safety and the Palestinians' right for an independent state.

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PA should delay UN statehood bid, says PLO official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh, Herb Keinon - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Nabil Amr calls on Palestinian leadership to delay statehood plan by a year out of fear it will harm relations with US and EU. The Palestinian Authority leadership has climbed a very high tree with its plan to ask the UN to recognize a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines in September, Nabil Amr, member of the PLO Central Council and a former PA minister, said on Tuesday. “The leadership does not have any guarantees that it would be able to climb down safely from the tree,” he cautioned, advising the PA to delay the statehood by another year.

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As U.S. Steps Back, Europe Takes Bigger Role in Mideast Peace Push
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler - July 20, 2011 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON — It is a truism of Middle East peacemaking that the United States is the pivotal player — the most credible broker between the Israelis and the Palestinians. But with talks at a standstill, the Obama administration now finds itself on the sidelines, and Europe is emerging as the key diplomatic actor.

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Abbas to bypass US opposition to UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 19, 2011 - 12:00am

OSLO, Norway (AFP) -- President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday said he was ready to circumvent opposition from the United States to a bid for statehood by taking the proposal to the United Nations' General Assembly. The plan to seek UN membership for a state on the lines that existed before the 1967 Six Day War is opposed by among others Israel and the United States. It risks being blocked by a US veto at the UN Security Council.

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Ministry: Syria recognizes Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Agence France Press (AFP) - July 19, 2011 - 12:00am

The Syrian foreign ministry said Monday that Damascus recognizes a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital within the borders in effect prior to the 1967 Six-Day War. "Syria recognizes a Palestinian state within the June 4, 1967 borders and east Jerusalem as its capital, and on the basis of the preservation of Palestinian legitimate rights," a statement said. Syria "will treat the Damascus office of the PLO as an embassy upon the publication of this statement," the ministry added.

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Israeli minister says Palestinians losing UN bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Daniel Estrin - July 18, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — International support for a planned Palestinian declaration of independence at the U.N. in September is waning, in large part because of intense Israeli lobbying against the initiative, a senior Israeli diplomat claimed Monday.

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The Long Overdue State of Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Hussein Ibish and Saliba Sarsar - (Opinion) July 18, 2011 - 12:00am

With the independence of the new Republic of South Sudan, the world is again reminded that states are created on the basis of local, regional and international necessity. At least two decades of international action, as well as a long, bitter and bloody conflict produced the independence of the south, a state that has been already welcomed by the international community, the African Union, the United Nations, and has been invited to join the Arab League.

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Israel’s opportunity to stop a train wreck
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
by James Carroll - (Opinion) July 18, 2011 - 12:00am

EVER SINCE outgoing Middle East envoy George Mitchell used the phrase “train wreck’’ with Charlie Rose in May, it has become jargon for what will happen in September when the Palestinian leadership goes to the United Nations seeking “full membership for the state of Palestine.” The Netanyahu government is so gravely threatened that it has made opposition to the UN affirmation of Palestinian independence a litmus test of loyalty to Israel. A catastrophe looms.

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Israel: Support waning for Palestinian state bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Associated Press - July 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel's deputy foreign minister says he believes international support for recognizing an independent Palestinian state at the U.N. this fall is waning. Danny Ayalon has been leading Israel's international lobbying effort against the Palestinians. He says he has met with representatives from dozens of countries, and he believes many are not going to vote with the Palestinians. With peace talks stalled, the Palestinians plan to ask U.N. member states to vote for recognition of an independent state. The vote is expected to be largely symbolic, but could isolate Israel.

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