Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu is considering a withdrawal of the Israeli military from the West Bank. 
The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reports the military pullout and other measures are being considered in an effort to stave off
potential diplomatic backlash following the possible recognition of a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly in September.
Netanyahu is said to believe there is little chance for further negotiations with Palestine
and is seeking ways to rally the U.S., the E.U. and other Western nations against a unilateral move in the U.N. by Palestine and other countries.
The Palestinian Authority is claiming momentum toward its effort to declare an independent Palestinian state
following a number of international endorsements.
In recent reports, the U.N. and International Monetary Fund say the Palestinian Authority is ready to run an independent state.
The U.N. report concludes that the main obstacle, however, remains :
U.N.: "the persistence of [the Israeli] occupation and the [conflict’s] unresolved issues."
At an international meeting in Brussels,
Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, said Palestinian statehood has been given a "birth certificate."
P.M. Fayyad - What I myself called at the meeting a 'birth,' what amounts to effectively a birth certificate
for the reality of Palestinian statehood.
We feel it very important for the political process to take advantage of what today’s meeting has concluded: 
the fact that we Palestinians have crossed the threshold of readiness for statehood.
A group of prominent Israelis met Thursday in Tel Aviv to announce their support for the formation of an independent Palestinian state. 
47 leading Israeli cultural figures and academics signed a “Declaration of Independence from the Occupation." 
Yaron Ezrahi is a professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Yaron Ezrahi - The subjugation of the Palestinian people by Israel 
is not only the elimination of Palestinian freedom, 
it also corrupts our freedom in the state of Israel.
A group of Israeli protesters tried to disrupt the event. They heckled the gathering and called the participants traitors.
