Palestinians plan to approach UN Security Council about statehood in July
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - May 31, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority plans to approach the United Nations Security Council in July to begin the process of getting Palestine recognized as a full member of the United Nations and to assure a vote on the matter by the General Assembly in September, Haaretz has learned.

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Abbas in Egypt for talks with military leader
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 30, 2011 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas was in Egypt on Monday for talks with the country's de facto head of state on efforts to seek UN recognition for a Palestinian state, a military source said. Abbas briefed Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi -- who heads the military council in power since president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February -- on his recent trip to Doha.

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Encountering Peace: Off to the UN we go
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) May 30, 2011 - 12:00am

It is now quite evident that there can be no end to our conflict with the Palestinians, and no peace without a negotiated agreement. Yet without a fundamental change in relations between the parties, the option of a two-state solution will soon be off the table. That is my assessment with regard to the Palestinian side. Once the current Palestinian leaders in Palestine come to believe that they can no longer advance the cause of peace and end the occupation, they will resign and turn the issue over to the next generation.

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Can Palestine become a United Nations member state?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alternet
by Louis Charbonneau - (Interview) May 30, 2011 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS, May 30 (Reuters) - The Arab League has said it will seek full U.N. membership for a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital, ignoring opposition from Washington and Israel. However, although such a move would carry symbolic force, there appears to be little chance it could succeed at present. WHAT STATUS DO THE PALESTINIANS CURRENTLY HAVE AT THE U.N.? The Palestinians are U.N. observers without voting rights. The Vatican and European Union have the same status. WHAT DO THE PALESTINIANS, ISRAELIS AND OTHERS WANT?

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Arab League backs Palestinian statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
May 29, 2011 - 12:00am

CAIRO — The Arab League has endorsed a Palestinian bid to seek recognition at the United Nations of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. The League says it will prepare documents to support the bid at the next General Assembly meeting in September in New York. Egypt's official MENA news agency says the announcement came after an Arab ministerial meeting in Qatar late on Saturday. The move pits the League against the United States and Israel, which oppose the Palestinian bid. The idea for the Palestinian push came after the collapse of the latest Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

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Israeli, Palestinian presidents secretly meet to resume peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 29, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas allegedly held secret talks meant to reach a formula that would enable the stalled peace process to resume, and the Palestinians to abort efforts to unilaterally seek United Nations recognition of statehood in September. The negotiations between Peres and Abbas were "real, prolonged and confidential," Israeli daily Ma'ariv reported on Sunday.

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Move to the UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) May 29, 2011 - 12:00am

In deciding to seek full UN membership for a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital, the Arab League is announcing that the current wave of self-determination in the region needs to translate into a more independent Arab foreign policy.

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Abbas sees no hope for talks, firm on U.N. path
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Ali Sawafta - May 28, 2011 - 12:00am

DOHA, May 28 (Reuters) - The Palestinian president said on Saturday there were "no shared foundations" for peace talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seeking U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood was his only option. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, addressing an Arab League meeting in Doha, expressed concern that taking the diplomatic step opposed by the United States and Israel could result in financial sanctions and urged Arab states to fill any gap.

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Palestinian UN bid: Israel's battle for Europe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - May 26, 2011 - 12:00am

The Foreign Ministry is focusing efforts on trying to block the Palestinian plan to win UN recognition for an independent state in September. Israel's chance of winning a majority among the 192 UN members state is miniscule, as the 116 states comprising the Non-Aligned movement tend to vote together and are likely to vote in favor of a Palestinian state. It is estimated that the large majority of non-Western nations among the remaining 76 states will also vote in favor of the Palestinian bid, which leaves Israel with a little over 40 states whose vote is still open.

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Officials fear 'Palestine' declaration will bring boycott
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - May 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Concern growing in defense establishment that following unilateral statehood announcement, countries will ban Israeli military products. Concern is growing in Israel over the possibility that following a unilateral declaration of statehood by the Palestinians later this year, countries around the world will boycott Israeli military products. The concern, voiced by leading officials in the defense establishment, comes ahead of the Paris Air Show next month, where Israeli hardware will be on display in pursuit of new sales.

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