Al Quds Al Arabi (London): Bin Laden criticizes Nasrallah and calls on Iraq's Muslims to support Baghdadi – In a new audio message, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden urged Iraq's Muslims to support Sheikh Abu Omar al-Baghdadi as head of the group in Iraq and condemned the Sunni "Awakening Councils" as "harmful councils." He also criticized Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah for accepting the deployment of U.N. forces in Lebanon following the war with Israel in 2006, saying the U.N. troops were sent to protect the Jews.

Ash Sharq Al Awsat (London): Sarkozy suspends contacts and Damascus responds: We do not agree on 'pressuring our friends' in Lebanon – Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal told Ash Sharq al-Awsat that the French and Egyptian call on Syria to help resolve the Lebanese presidential crisis was a "veiled accusation" that his country was obstructing the election. He said Syria's agreement with France excludes "pressuring our friends in Lebanon" to resolve the crisis.

Al Gomhuria (Egypt): Israel blocks return of Palestinian pilgrims to Gaza – Israel said it would not allow more than 2,000 Palestinian pilgrims stranded in Egypt to return to the Gaza Strip except through its security checkpoints. A Jordanian official said some of these Muslim pilgrims do not wish to return through the Israeli checkpoints because they are related to suicide bombers or those wanted by the Israeli authorities.

Al Hayat Al Jadeeda (West Bank): Prisoners start indefinite hunger strike – Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails announced they started an indefinite hunger strike and three days of mourning for the martyr prisoner Fadi Abul Rubb, protesting the fall of prisoner martyrs due to medical negligence by the Israeli prison authorities. Spokesmen for the prisoners said the conditions in the prisons are very poor, where their medical needs are neglected and there is insufficient and unhealthy food.

Al Arab Al Yawm (Jordan): Iraqi people facing the most serious crimes and violations of their basic rights – The Iraqi Bar Association said in a statement the Iraqi people are facing the worst kind of crimes and violations of their basic rights in having a dignified life and security. The syndicate accused the U.S. invasion and occupation of destroying the country's independent statehood and its institutions in an unprecedented manner, adding the deterioration of the country confirms the collapse of the U.S.-backed political process.