Al-Quds (East Jerusalem): Israel studies evacuating Gaza neighborhoods before responding to rocket fire – Sources close to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the minister is studying the legal elements for evacuating people from neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip used to launch Palestinian rockets at Israel. They said the evacuation could take place by dropping leaflets warning residents to leave before making air strikes.

Al-Hayat (London): Arab League threatened to withdraw peace initiative – Arab League foreign ministers met in Cairo and threatened to withdraw the Arab peace initiative because of Israel's lack of serious response to it. The ministers urged Israel to show seriousness in achieving a just and comprehensive peace "instead of continuing its systematic policy of war."

An-Nahar (Lebanon): Moussa: Siniora will be invited to summit if President Suleiman is not elected by then – Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said after a marathon meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo Wednesday that Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora would be invited to the Arab summit in Damascus on March 29-30. He added if the Lebanese rivals fail to elect army chief General Michel Suleiman as president before that date, then Siniora would be issued an invitation because he assumes the president's responsibilities in accordance with the Lebanese constitution.

Tishreen (Syria): Muallem: Rice in region to allow mobilizing U.S. fleets off Lebanon – Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said at the Arab League headquarters that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came to the region at this time to justify mobilizing American navy fleets off the Lebanese shores. He also said he expected the Arab summit his country will host this month to have higher representation than previous ones.

Okaz (Saudi Arabia): Destroyer Cole leaves Lebanon and two other warships replace it – A U.S. Navy official said that the USS COLE, the target of a suicide attack off the Yemeni coast that killed 17 U.S. servicemen in 2000, has left the area off the Lebanese shores and is headed to the Gulf. He said it was replaced by two other warships, an Aegis-guided missile destroyer USS Ross and the USS Philippine Sea cruiser.