A West Bank anachronism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ahmad Samih Khalidi - April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Barring unforeseen developments, it appears as if the PLO and its Ramallah-based arm, the Palestinian Authority, it appears, will head to the UN general assembly in September seeking international recognition of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Via a mechanism known as "uniting for peace", the idea is to bypass the stalemated and futile bilateral negotiations with Israel and circumvent an inevitable US veto at the security council by securing general assembly sanction for a Palestinian state.

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Palestinian UN diplomat: Palestinians prefer peace treaty with Israel by September
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Riyad Mansour, the top Palestinian diplomat at the United Nations, said the Palestinians prefer to have a peace treaty with Israel by September, the month when the Palestinians plan on taking their case for an independent state to the floor of the UN. The Palestinians say that if a peace treaty with Israel isn't reached by September their first choice is to go to the UN Security Council with such strong support and arguments that it would recommend admission of Palestine as a new member of the United Nations.

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'PA will get majority UN-recognition for Palestinian state'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Senior Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Shaath on Tuesday estimated that the Palestinian Authority will be able to gain recognition for a Palestinian state from two-thirds of United Nations member states before September 2011. PA President Mahmoud Abbas was expected to travel to France on Wednesday to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss recognition of an independent Palestinian state. According to the A-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Abbas will attempt to convince France to endorse a Palestinian state before the PA approaches the UN in September.

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Israeli Luminaries Press for a Palestinian State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Dozens of Israel’s most honored intellectuals and artists have signed a declaration endorsing a Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders and asserting that an end to Israel’s occupation “will liberate the two peoples and open the way to a lasting peace.”

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Palestinians will seek Security Council approval for UN membership if no peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
April 19, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinians say that if a peace treaty with Israel isn’t reached by September their first choice is to go to the U.N. Security Council with such strong support and arguments that it would recommend admission of Palestine as a new member of the United Nations. That would require convincing the U.S., Israel’s ally, not to veto a resolution supporting membership for an independent Palestinian state, which won’t be easy.

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Statehood May Be Pyrrhic Victory for Palestinians, Experts Warn
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - (Opinion) April 18, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian quest for statehood received seals of approval from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Nations in the past week, marking another advance towards the goal of winning United Nations’ endorsement this September. But legal and political analysts warn that the independence campaign may backfire, causing Israeli to dig in its heels on future peace talks, creating problems with the U.S. and perhaps even losing Palestinians the right to make claims on Israel in future negotiations.

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Jewish groups debate ways to thwart U.N. recognition of ‘Palestine’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - April 15, 2011 - 12:00am

The path to international recognition of Palestinian statehood by September -- when the Palestinians plan to bring the matter before the U.N. General Assembly -- seems clear. The question before Israel and its supporters who oppose such recognition is how to create a detour. Some say the way to go is through diplomatic suasion. Others say there needs to be a push forward with peace initiatives. Still others believe that threatening counteractions is the best way to derail the Palestinian plan.

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Israel on the back foot
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

There has been lots of good news in the Arab world this week, thanks to the successful uprisings against autocratic regimes ushered in by the glorious Arab Spring and the international community’s encouraging response. An overwhelming majority or two-thirds (65 per cent) of Americans — more Democrats than Republicans — believe that “greater democracy in the Middle East would be positive for the US”. And in the long run, more than three-quarters (76 per cent) of Americans say democratisation would be mostly positive for the US.

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The Palestinians’ mistake in seeking statehood from the U.N.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

In almost two decades of working on Arab-Israeli negotiations as a State Department adviser and negotiator, I’ve come up with more than my fair share of dumb ideas. But the notion Palestinians are cooking up, for U.N. action on Palestinian statehood this fall, takes dumb to a new level.

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PA seeks US support for statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

While Palestinian Authority is taking major steps to prepare for its impending declaration of an independent state, bitterness is evident among West Bank leaders at the US' reluctance to take a strong stance on the issue. The recent reports by the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund all indicate that the PA has established the necessary governmental institutions, and is ready to function independently.

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