AMMAN, Jordan, May 2 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for May 2:
The London-based al-Quds al-Arabi said in a front page commentary Tuesday the Palestinian situation has never been as bad as it is today. The independent Palestinian-owned daily commented there is a total collapse of Palestinian conditions on all levels. "The Palestinian cause has today turned into a question of salaries and how to pay them, while most of the priorities" have regressed, it said, adding the Israeli separation barrier in the West Bank and Israel's unilateral policies have become marginal issues. The paper, distributed in most Arab capitals, warned that differences between the Palestinian presidency and the Hamas government can lead to bloody confrontations if there is no useful dialogue that is guaranteed to succeed in placing the Palestinian priorities at the forefront. It stressed that for this dialogue to succeed, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas must first submit to the reality of an elected Hamas government and for all parties to understand that foiling this government through starving the people sets a dangerous precedent. The daily urged the presidency against trying to find an alternative government and parallel security services, saying such a move only encourages others to form their own militias and increase the risk of confrontation. It said that Abbas should be president of all the Palestinians and treat all factions equally by remaining neutral. The daily insisted that Abbas' attempts to hold secret negotiations with the Israelis, without the endorsement of the government, was unacceptable.
The Palestinian al-Hayat al-Jadeeda said in a commentary marking Labor Day (May Day) that while the Palestinian people are struggling to make a dignified living, the "policy of starvation (sanctions) came to add repression to more repression, frustration to more frustration and injustice to more injustice." The independent daily said all the pressures, while Israel continues to erect the separation barrier and turn cities and towns into prisons, requires Palestinian unity to protect their dignity and provide "milk for their children and future." The commentary, written by a representative of the Palestinian People's Party (communist), insisted that no matter how tough the "repression tools," it was time to exert common effort to form a "national salvation" program. This program, it said, should bring the people closer together, form an alliance among the workers, students, farmers, employees and academics, to work towards "salvation and liberation." The paper stressed the more internal unity there is, "the more we can break the chains of humiliation, shame, occupation and all forms of starvation and sanctions."
The London-based ash-Sharq al-Awsat said if Arab governments were efficient and democratic they would have the right to impose emergency laws in exceptional cases, but they're not. The Saudi-owned daily said Arab regimes are the "law, order and judiciary and they can make or revoke decisions in the name of the people." It asked Egyptian leaders why the government would need to extend the old emergency laws, saying the threat of terrorism and world conditions have changed and so should the laws to be able to deal with these threats. It argued the Egyptian government can revoke the old law and replace it with specific regulations to contain terrorism, "giving the government an express line only in arrests and trials." But to maintain the old, obsolete and vague emergency law only serves the opposition, it said.
Bahrain's al-Wasat daily commented there are different U.S. strategic calculations in dealing with Iran than in dealing with Iraq. The pro-government paper, which describes itself as independent, argued that toppling Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was like a "kids' game since it was a very easy task" with a weak Iraqi army that could not confront the American war machine. But an American invasion of Iran will not be so easy, it said, since the terrain is different, scattered with mountains, and the army is well-equipped. It said the debate on whether to launch air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities will also not be easy since these facilities are underground and scattered amid populated areas. Also, the paper added, Iran can retaliate against the United States in a way that Iraq couldn't, saying that with 148,000 American troops in neighboring Iraq, the Tehran regime can swiftly stir the Iraqi Shiite population to resist the U.S. occupation in their country. "This will be a very painful strike for the American policy in the Middle East," it predicted, saying Iran has the ability to use its missiles to directly hit the American forces in Iraq and can launch rockets in the heart of Israel.
Jordan's independent al-Ghad published a cartoon indicating that news of Iraqis and Palestinians being killed are so common that they no longer represent important news to the Arabs. The cartoon shows an Arab man in a traditional head-dress sitting on a sofa watching television. A large written message on the television screen reads: "Breaking News: No Palestinian or Iraqi martyred today."
