Al-Quds al-Arabi (London): Abbas returns from Washington pessimistic over peace chances, Olmert ready to meet Syrian president – Aides to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was frustrated by his talks in Washington about peace between Israel and the Palestinians, adding he was pessimistic over reaching peace with Israel this year. Meanwhile, Israeli sources said they expect Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to begin focusing peace efforts on the Syrian track at the expense of giving real attention to the Palestinian track.

Al-Baath (Syria): Assad expresses appreciation to Turkey's efforts for regional peace – Syrian President Bashar Assad's talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan revolved around developments in the region and focused on activating the peace process in the Middle East. Assad expressed his appreciation for Turkey's endeavors to arrive at peace and said Syria is ready to cooperate with Turkey in achieving security and stability in the region, while Erdogan said he was very pleased with the results of their discussions.

Al-Khaleej (United Arab Emirates): Gaza appeals to world, Israel threatens to marginalize PA – Gaza yesterday appealed to the world, asking the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees to resume assistance after the agency stopped aid to the impoverished strip due to the blockade imposed by Israel.

Israel demanded that all Palestinian resistance factions should stop firing rockets, while it simultaneously threatened to marginalize the Palestinian Authority and its President Abbas in the wake of failing to reach a peace deal, amid reports of restarting Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations through Turkish mediation.

Ash-Sharq al-Awsat (London; Saudi Arabia): Iran: We agree with America … Attacking us has disastrous multilevel implications – Iran's Foreign Ministry said the "disastrous situation" facing the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to Washington's internal issues, makes it difficult for the United States to launch an attack on Iran. These comments came two days after the U.S. Navy announced that an American army transport vessel fired warning shots at two vessels in the Gulf, raising tensions in the region.

Al-Wasat (Bahrain): Karzai survives third assassination attempt – Afghan President Hamid Karzai survived a third assassination attempt carried out by the Taliban, who fired mortars at a formal ceremony in Kabul yesterday, killing three people including a parliament member. Karzai, his ministers, former militia leaders, diplomats and senior military officers took cover to avoid the attack, which came on the 16th anniversary of the fall of the Communist regime at the hands of the Mujahedin.