AMMAN -- The Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip entered its 11th day on Tuesday in a war that may last longer than expected, bringing more death and destruction to the Palestinians. Yet the longer it takes for Israel to achieve its military and political objectives against Hamas and "changing the equation in this region," the higher the Israeli risks of losing a political battle that might change the equation, but against its favor.

AMMAN -- As Israeli war jets continued to bomb the Gaza Strip for a fifth consecutive day Wednesday, Arab foreign ministers were meeting in Cairo to negotiate how to stop the Israeli attacks that have so far killed 390 Palestinians, injured over 1,800, and destroyed hundreds of buildings in the narrow strip.

It was not enough for Syria to break out of international isolation. Now it is claiming the laurels of peacemaker and the status of a key player in the Greater Middle East.

AMMAN -- Syria took international center stage Thursday as the isolated country stepped into the spotlight to host a major four-way summit that implicitly recognized the political weight of President Bashar Assad as a pivotal player in negotiations to establish peace and stability in the turbulent Middle East.

AMMAN – French President Nicolas Sarkozy's upcoming two-day visit to Syria -- the first Western head of state to go there in five years -- is expected to help redefine the shifting pivotal role that Damascus has in the region, as the "rogue" state seeks to come out of isolation and into the international fold.

What the Arab papers said on May 26: