Al-Ahram (Egypt): Israel leaning toward Egypt-made truce deal with Palestinians – As the region prepares to receive US President George Bush, who starts a visit to Israel today, officials close to the Israeli defense minister said Israel is leaning toward accepting a truce deal with the Palestinians. The offer was made by Egypt's top intelligence official Omar Suleiman earlier this week in Tel Aviv.
Al-Ayyam (West Bank): PA president: We cannot forget right of return – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian people can never forget the right of return and will not concede that basic right. He added that the issue of refugees is as important as other questions being negotiated with Israel, stressing that the leadership was seeking a just and peaceful solution that requires the support of the Arabs and international community.
Ash-Sharq al-Awsat (London; Saudi Arabia): Turkey: Syrian-Israeli negotiations to not be publicized before preparations complete – Turkey said that the Syrian-Israeli negotiations Ankara is mediating continues despite negative regional developments, including the Lebanese crisis and the internal problems facing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman, Akif Beki, told Ash-Sharq al-Awsat that Ankara cannot reveal details of these negotiations, because they were still in the preparation stage.
Al-Jazirah (Saudi Arabia): Saud al-Faisal warns of effects on Arab-Iranian relations over Lebanon – Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said his country was very concerned with the continued armed clashes in Lebanon, and expressed regrets that Lebanese weapons were being pointed against each other. He warned that if Iran was supporting the "coup d'etat" in Lebanon, this would affect Tehran's relations with all the Arab countries, if not with the entire Muslim world.
Al-Anwar (Lebanon): Army commander to officers: If civil war erupts, the solution could only be political – As the Arab ministerial committee prepares to convene in Beirut today to meet with rival leaders, the capital has become calm with the deployment of the army and withdrawal of gunmen. Army commander, Gen. Michel Suleiman, sent several messages to his officers about the crisis, calling on politicians to find solutions before a civil war erupts. If war breaks out, he said, it could only be solved politically.