Abbas Hails 'Palestinian Spring' in Hero's Welcome

Mahmoud Abbas would submit a letter, but not force a vote

(NEWSER) - The international community is hammering out a deal that would spare the US from having to veto Palestine’s move for statehood . There are several ideas floating about, but all revolve around the premise that Mahmoud Abbas would deliver a letter to the Security Council requesting statehood, but would not actually force a vote, US, European, Israeli and Palestinian diplomats tell CNN . “We don’t need to see a vote right away,” one Palestinian diplomat said. More»

If Palestinians wait much longer, it will be too late: Reza Aslan

(NEWSER) - Palestinians plan to push for full statehood in the UN later this month, and the US vows to block them. Reza Aslan offers five reasons in the Los Angeles Times why America should buck Israel ("it is not political suicide") and change its mind:

• Failed talks: Twenty years of negotiations toward a Palestinian state have gone nowhere, even as the number of Israelis in the West Bank has tripled in that time to 300,000. "A few more years and practically nothing will remain."

Time for Netanyahu to get serious, says former PM

(NEWSER) - Israel and Palestine seem on a collision course for a diplomatic confrontation at the UN, but “things could and should have been different,” writes former PM Ehud Olmert in an op-ed for the New York Times . “The parameters of a peace deal are well known,” he says, outlining the two-state solution he championed in office. Benjamin Netanyahu must put those terms back on the table. "We Israelis simply do not have the luxury of spending more time postponing a solution." More»

He'll also meet with Netanyahu as Perry, Romney hammer policies

(NEWSER) - If there is indeed a deal in the works to postpone a US-Palestinian showdown on statehood, the two leaders will get to hash it out in person. President Obama will meet Mahmoud Abbas at the UN tomorrow, the AP reports. Obama will meet separately with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, sources tell Haaretz that votes on statehood in the Security Council and General Assembly are likely to be postponed for weeks or longer, presumably so negotiators can resume peace talks. More»

Palestinian leader says he needs world to 'recognize the occupation'

(NEWSER) - It’s official: Mahmoud Abbas will demand full UN membership from the Security Council next week, despite an almost certain veto from the US. Abbas formally committed to the gambit for the first time in a speech today, the New York Times reports, saying that “We need a state, a seat at the United Nations, and nothing more.” The US had hoped it could talk Abbas out of the move. More»