A review of the Arab press.
Arab press roundup for December 9:
Palestinian elections, Mubarak's Gulf tour highlighted by Arab newspapers on Thursday
Jordan's Al Rai daily commented on Thursday on whether the Palestinian-Syrian rapprochement was "a reconciliation or a handshake," saying that Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's participation in the funeral of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Cairo and the ensuing visit of PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas to Damascus did not succeed in overcoming differences between the two sides. The mass-circulation daily, partially owned by the Jordanian government, argued that Palestinian-Syrian differences were not personal "but historic over the independence of the Palestinian decision and the legitimacy of the Palestinian leadership in the eyes of the Syrians, especially after" the signing of the 1993 interim Oslo peace accords.
The London-based Al Quds Al Arabi commented in its editorial on a Gulf tour by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, saying it was difficult to understand Mubarak's "zeal for expanding the circle of normalization of the Gulf with an extremist right-wing government led by [Israeli Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon". The independent Palestinian-owned daily blasted Mubarak's mission as disparaging the Egyptian people, which it said were the Arabs who most resisted normalization with the Jewish state and had moved in support of Arab causes. The paper, with pan-Arab nationalist trends, said that trying to bring Gulf countries, such as Kuwait, Bahrain and possibly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to normalize relations with Israel, was a "nonnationalistic mission."
Lebanon's As Safir commented that Mahmoud Abbas was the most likely candidate to win the Palestinian presidential elections to be held on January 9, saying that he had almost achieved total Palestinian, Arab and international consensus as opposed to his competitor, Marwan Barghouti. The independent, pan-Arab nationalist daily said the upcoming poll was a "new test of the democratic experiment, which is still in the making, but could open new and yet-undiscovered Palestinian horizons". The Lebanese daily said the rest of the world was "showing a lot of eagerness for these polls that include wanting to sponsor the Palestinian democratic process" by making it similar to the Afghan and Iraqi elections taking place under occupation.
Another Lebanese daily, Ad Diyar, commented on the "long and difficult war between Saudi Arabia and Al Qaeda", saying it could not predict a victory for either side or the price to be paid in the process. The pro-Syrian paper insisted that despite the escalating campaign against terrorism in the oil-rich Arab kingdom, the campaign has not yet achieved decisive results and the attacks were growing. It said that last week's terrorist attack on the American consulate in Jeddah showed it was "within the framework of an organized operation that was accurately prepared, representing a substantial development that could be described as urban warfare".
On Iraq, the Iraqi Al Bayan reported that 37 university professors have been assassinated since the US ousted Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003. The paper, published four times a week, quoted higher education and scientific research minister Taher Khalaf Al Baka telling the interim Iraqi Legislative Council that Iraq was also witnessing an emigration of its "efficient people". The paper, owned by the Islamic Dawa Party, quoted Baka as adding that Iraqi universities, once the Arab world's most prestigious institutions, would have been in "a better condition had it not been for instability".
Arab press roundup for December 8:
Egyptian-Israeli prisoner swap, upcoming Iraqi elections focus of Arab press on Wednesday
The Jordan Times on Wednesday commented in its editorial on the warming relations between Egypt and Israel that came with the recent exchange of prisoners between the two countries, saying there were "positive signs" from Israel pointing to some thawing of its stance toward the Arabs and the Palestinians. Jordan's only English-language daily said Egypt and Israel "appear to believe in some positive developments on the Palestinian front", but warned that "all these developments may fall short if the rhetoric of good intentions is not translated into actual deeds on the ground". The paper, partially owned by the government, argued that the Palestinians were growing impatient with words and wanted tangible results. It said that when the Palestinian presidential elections are over in January, "we will all know whether a real thaw in Israeli-Arab relations is real and enduring or not".
The London-based Al Quds Al Arabi, however, slammed the Egyptian government for its warming toward Israel and official statements that Cairo will reinstate its ambassador in Tel Aviv soon. The independent Palestinian-owned daily referred to Egyptian comments that problems that had obstructed a deal in which Egypt would sell gas to Israel were also being removed in the aftermath of the prisoner swap. The paper, with pan-Arab nationalist trends, added that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was "interested in selling gas to the Jewish state and to block the road on the competitive Palestinian gas". It opined that there was "no other explanation to such public eagerness to sell gas to the Jewish state except that perhaps it involves [gas] firms owned by people close to the ruling family in Egypt". The daily went on to say that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had previously refused to finalize the gas deal with Egypt before releasing convicted Israeli spy Azzam Azzam, whom Cairo recently released in return for six Egyptian students held in Israel, adding that "Sharon seems to have succeeded in imposing his conditions on President Mubarak."
On Iraq, the Saudi Al Watan daily reported that Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi admitted during his meetings with Iraqi Sunni, tribal, civilian and military leaders with links to the armed resistance that he was unable to strike a deal with the Sunnis that would grant him political gains and guarantee a major role for the Sunnis in the new political system in Iraq. The pro-government paper said that Allawi had also "insisted there was no practical and acceptable option before the Sunnis except to participate extensively in these elections to define their role and position in the new system".
Iraq's independent Al Mashriq daily quoted the president of the Iraqi Bar Syndicate, Kamal Hamdoun, as accusing the American occupation authorities in Iraq of "planning to make some Israelis participate" in the January elections "under the pretext that they are of Iraqi origins". Hamdoun said the "insistence of the occupation authorities and the Iraqi government to open the door for participation of Iraqis abroad in the elections aims at covering the large boycott inside the country and allowing Israelis to participate".
Another Iraqi newspaper, Al Adala, quoted national security affairs minister Kassem Daoud as saying that officials in the former regime, including ousted president Saddam Hussein, would be tried after the January general elections. The paper, owned by the powerful Shia Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, quoted Daoud as saying that Saddam Hussein would be the third or fourth former figure to be tried. He added that former regime officials living abroad, such as foreign minister Naji Sabri and information minister Mohammad Saeed Al Sahaf, "would be returned to the country by Interpol and put on trial".
Arab press roundup for December 7:
Arab newspapers on Tuesday highlighted Palestinian-Syrian ties, Egypt-Israel prisoner swap
Qatar's Al Raya daily commented on Tuesday on mending Palestinian-Syrian ties, saying the visit of the Palestinian leadership to Syria on Monday was a positive step that required practical Arab support. The pro-government paper said that the restoration of Palestinian-Syrian relations following Monday's talks between the Palestinian and Syrian leaders in Damascus constituted "an element of strength for the two, as well as for Lebanon", adding that it was in their shared common interests to coordinate their negotiating positions.
Egypt's official Al Ahram said that the latest developments in the Middle East had thrown the ball into the Israeli government's court, adding that Israel now had to make a move to resume the peace process with the Arabs on all tracks. The mass-circulation daily, owned by the Egyptian government, said the foreign ministers of Western countries who recently visited the region "have agreed that there was an historic opportunity now to achieve peace in the area". It said that while Sharon's government was facing internal difficulties and rifts among its members due to Israel's unilateral plan to withdraw from Gaza, there were new circumstances that were now available to achieve peace.
The London-based Al Hayat commented on this week's exchange of prisoners between Egypt and Israel, in which Egypt released a convicted Israeli spy, Azzam Azzam, in return for the freedom of six Egyptian students. The Saudi-financed daily said that "some saw the prisoner swap deal as being unbalanced". It argued that the events following the prisoner swap showed differences between the two sides and that Sharon had "received the spy Azzam by congratulating him as a national hero, in an effort to benefit internally from his release". As for the Egyptian students, the paper added that "no one was allowed to see them, and until yesterday, their families were waiting for them to leave the interrogations and had to delay the celebrations for their return". It said that while Cairo had the "right to resort to any measure to release its citizens", keeping the details of the deal hidden "made it appear cheap and unbalanced by the Egyptians".
On Iraq, another United Arab Emirates' daily, Al Bayan, reported that a commission to support the Iraqi elections was formed in the UAE and that it would hold its first meeting in Dubai on Friday. The pro-government Gulf paper said that the commission was working on "removing the difficulties and obstacles facing the Iraqis" in the general elections on January 30. It added that the commission intended to contact Arab Gulf countries to encourage all Iraqis to participate in the elections process.
Acknowledgement to UPI International
Review of the Arab press
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