Will Palestine be born this fall?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

The chances for the birth of a Palestinian state this fall appear to be 50-50. The world community, including the US, seems to favour the idea, but there is clearly a lack of political will and muscle that would push Israel to seriously negotiate the emergence of Palestine. At the same time, major countries, especially the US, do not show enthusiasm for a unilateral declaration coupled with a UN birth certificate.

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Abbas: We'll keep pursuing peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that the Palestinian Authority intends to pursue peace negotiations with Israel despite of its reconciliation with Hamas. Abbas, who met with top "Israel Initiative" representatives, said that "negotiations have been ongoing since 1993, when Arafat recognized the State of Israel and Rabin said he recognized the PLO as the Palestinians' representative. We will continue these talks for the PLO. The new government and the peace talks are two different things."

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Palestinian Unity Raises New Problems as It Solves Others
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - (Opinion) April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

The memorandum signed by the Fatah and Hamas movements on Wednesday, aimed at ending a four-year-old political division, creates as many problems as it solves, experts warned.

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Netanyahu fell into the Palestinians' diplomatic trap
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) April 27, 2011 - 12:00am

The third intifada is inevitable. It will erupt if the United Nations recognizes a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders because the decision will not be implemented automatically, and the Palestinians will go to war to demand their sovereign rights and to expel the Israel Defense Forces and the settlers from their territory. It will also erupt if the United Nation is deterred from declaring independence for Palestine or hedges its decision in an attempt to placate Israel.

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Not resolving the Palestinian issue will fuel violence in Middle East: Jordan's king
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 27, 2011 - 12:00am

Jordanian King Abdullah II said Tuesday that not finding a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue will increase violence and exacerbate instability in the Middle East, the state-run Petra news agency reported. Calling for intensified efforts by the United States and the international community to realize tangible progress in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Abdullah II underlined the need to remove obstacles against resuming the peace process.

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'Annexation for declaration' idea advancing in Knesset
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman - April 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Ideas about annexing parts of the West Bank that until recently were considered extreme have been gaining traction in the Knesset in recent weeks as the Palestinian Authority continues threatening to declare a state unilaterally in September. National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau raised the idea at Israel Beiteinu’s convention in Jerusalem two weeks ago and then spoke about it at length in an interview with The Jerusalem Post’s web site last week.

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'PA will defer UN statehood bid if 'serious' talks begin'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) April 25, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian leadership will defer its plan to seek a declaration of statehood in the United Nations this September if "real and serious" negotiations begin before that point, PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo told London-based Al-Hayyat on Monday. Abed Rabbo added that the Palestinians only have two options in their playbook and that if it is not satisfied by renewed talks, it will go ahead with the United Nations plan.

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Fayyad: National unity urgent for statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 25, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Saturday that a national unity government must be formed urgently as the last stages of the national project are completed. Fayyad's comments were made during a tour of villages near Ramallah, where the premier helped farmers to plant tree saplings. The prime minister's two-year state-building initiative is scheduled to be completed in September, when the PA is expected to seek international recognition of its statehood at the UN.

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Bibi and Obama: hand over peace process to the UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Tony Karon - April 25, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, we are told, are in a "bizarre diplomatic race" to be the first to outline a new initiative for Middle East peace. That's according to the New York Times, which last week reported that Mr Netanyahu is planning to preempt Mr Obama when he addresses US Congress next month, at the invitation of the president's Republican adversaries.

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Palestinian membership in the UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Musa Keilani - (Opinion) April 24, 2011 - 12:00am

The debate over the Palestinians’ quest for international recognition of their statehood got into high gear last week. The administration of US President Barack Obama offered the golden advice, saying it did not think that it was a “good idea” for the Palestinians to unilaterally seek recognition for independent statehood from the United Nations before reaching a peace agreement with Israel.

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