A roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers September 26.
Give Abu Mazen a chance
Jordan's Al Rai said that the Palestinian situation was becoming more dangerous as each faction struggles against the other, warning that only the Palestinian people will pay the price if Hamas and Fatah fail to reach an agreement.
The mass-circulation daily, partially owned by the government, argued that it was unacceptable and against Palestinian interests for differences to remain and escalate for narrow interests.
Delays in "positively dealing with the international community while searching for practical mechanisms to move the peace process ... increases the possibility of a regression in the Palestinian question on the international agenda," it said.
The paper's editorial stressed that the Palestinians have no other choice but to resort to wisdom and logic, without "monopolizing nationalism," saying that the Palestinian situation has come to a dead-end since the establishment of the Hamas government eight months ago and it was time to give Abbas a chance to bring back the Palestinian cause to international priorities, as well as allow him to lift the economic, political, and diplomatic blockade against the Palestinians.
Hezbollah will not be dragged into civil war
Lebanon's Al Safir said in a front-page commentary that some Lebanese politicians were trying to lure the Shiite Hezbollah organization into a "show-down in a ground that is strange to it and a game it is not accustomed to."
The mass-circulation daily said that Hezbollah has always been pre-occupied with resistance against Israel and liberating occupied lands, and that it has not been involved in internal political and sectarian struggles.
"Whoever fights the Israeli enemy cannot be sectarian," it said, adding that sectarian leaders are not harmed by the Israeli occupation, but may benefit from it.
The paper, with Arab nationalist trends, added that Lebanese politicians who came to power through civil wars know that Hezbollah cannot leave the "Israeli enemy and shift inwards to face its [internal] critics and foes."
These politicians also know, it opined, that Hezbollah will never use its weapons inside Lebanon. At the same time, the "resistance men" clearly see the aims behind attempts to try to "pull them into this trap, starting with the Israeli failure to crush the resistance."
The daily said that there was no danger of another civil war erupting in the country because the "resistance people know that the struggle against the enemy in itself is the antibiotic against a civil war."
Stop the media war
The Palestinian Al Quds daily commented that the Palestinians became optimistic when an initial agreement was reached between the factions to form a national unity government, but these talks were obstructed by international demands to recognize previous agreements with Israel.
The moderate Jerusalem-based paper said that since talks on a national unity government began to face problems, the internal media campaign between the Hamas government and Fatah escalated. It complained that the two sides were hurling accusations against each other through the press amid "security deterioration."
The paper described the tension in the Palestinian territories as a "media civil war," saying that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' cancelation of his planned visit to Gaza Tuesday means a suspension of these talks.
The daily, which describes itself as independent, called on all Palestinian parties to stop the media war and the "unacceptable accusations, because this poisons the atmosphere and complicates matters."
Stop American 'recklessness'
Syria's official Al Thawra daily said that there was no need for an intelligence report to reveal that terrorism has escalated after September 11 because of the US administration's failure in its war on terror.
The state-run paper added in a commentary that the US intelligence report was nevertheless important, saying that the Bush administration took the events of September 11 as a launching pad to implement an "unprecedented agenda, without paying attention to the catastrophic repercussions."
It complained that the administration ignored all international warnings and opposition to its preemptive wars, turning the entire world into a haven for terrorism.
The daily said that the US administration's disregard for the American intelligence report and warnings from allies indicates that the American agenda was prepared in advance and will not change even if a report is issued every day.
It insisted that international efforts should now focus on stopping the "American recklessness, in which humanity is paying a price," and therefore, to prevent the escalation of terrorism because of American mistakes.
Vatican a follower of 'little Bush'
Bahrain's Akhbar Al Khaleej said that the Muslim nation saw the holy month of Ramadan as filled with pain, especially as this year it began in September, a month that marked five years since the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States.
It said that these attacks were taken by President George W. Bush and his "Zionist administration" as a pretext to launch a new crusade in the name of fighting so-called Islamic terrorism and turning 9/11 into a holocaust against Muslims. The paper sharply criticized the killing, torture, and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The pro-government daily said that the month of Ramadan returns after the "hands of the enemies of Islam increased ... until the chief of terror, little Bush, gave the Muslims the title of fascism," complaining that the Vatican also became a follower of Bush in a "twisted campaign."
Review of Arab Editorials
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