AMMAN, Jordan, May 24 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for May 24:
The United Arab Emirates' Khaleej Times said in its editorial Wednesday that Afghanistan "continues to burn" with waves of bombings by U.S.-led coalition jets, mostly killing civilians and some Taliban forces. The English-language daily said the coalition forces should realize by now that indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets is futile and cannot bring peace to the country. The pro-government paper urged the United States and its allies to rethink their strategy in Afghanistan by seeking to end the civil war through opening channels of communication with the Taliban. "The U.S. and its allies cannot afford to ignore the Taliban as they continue to remain the sole representative of the Pashtun, the majority community," it said, adding they "enjoy considerable support in all sections of Afghan society." The Dubai-based mass-circulation daily urged the coalition to learn from its experience of the past five years and to be more realistic in dealing with the Taliban. It stressed that instead of "mindlessly targeting Taliban and civilian targets," it was time to open a "new chapter in Afghanistan by adopting more realistic and reasonable policies." The paper added that peace and stability could return to Afghanistan if the Taliban are encouraged to join the political process by offering a general amnesty. "They may be semi-literate, religious people out of sync with the realities of the modern world. But unreasonable they are not."
The London-based al-Hayat said in a commentary the U.S. policy of "collective starvation" of the Palestinian people will not serve any interests and will raise the popularity of the likes of al-Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The Saudi-financed daily argued the first parties to be hurt by withholding assistance from the Palestinians are Israel and the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas. "Just as the Iraqi opposition leaders fell and began ruling with the protection of the occupation, the Palestinian leaders who are exploiting the suffering of the Palestinian people to fight Hamas will ultimately pay a price and face the same fate," the paper predicted. It said the Palestinians will never forgive the leaders (of Fatah) who "used the lives of children and dignity of the people for political objectives." The daily, distributed in most Arab capitals, insisted the Fatah "cronies" have no choice but to leave, apologize for their behavior and stick to democratic practice. It said the Palestinians are fed up with Fatah's corruption, having tried to change authority through democracy, adding they will not abandon their gains because of "political lies."
Bahrain's Akhbar al-Khaleej commented that if the statement carried by al-Qaida in Palestine claiming responsibility for the attempted assassination of the Palestinian intelligence chief in Gaza is true, "a bigger disaster has knocked on Palestine's door." The pro-government daily said al-Qaida has never fired a bullet at the "usurpers of Palestine who carry out daily massacres against innocent civilians, but are launching terrorist attacks that could ignite a civil war among the (Palestinian) antagonists." It warned the presence of weapons in the Palestinian territories at this crucial time is escalating the internal differences and anything can ignite a fire in whatever is left of national unity. It said the last thing the Palestinians need now is the "services of this terrorist organization, and does not need the fake support given by al-Qaida leaders in their rhetoric every now and then." The paper stressed that if the network succeeds in penetrating Palestine, the territories will not be better off than Iraq today, insisting that al-Qaida's objective is to ignite a Palestinian civil war and serve the "Zionist American scheme aimed at obliterating Palestinian national rights."
Egypt's al-Ahram commented the Israeli government decision to release $11 million of Palestinian tax revenue returns to buy medicine and medical supplies for Palestinian hospitals was difficult to understand. The semi-official daily added in its editorial that Israel was now holding more than $200 million of Palestinian monies, yet the government has decided to release only a small portion and is dictating its disbursement. It is somewhat understandable for the United States and Europe to freeze assistance to demand concessions from the Hamas government, it argued, but it is not understandable for Palestinians to be deprived of their sovereign revenues and for these revenues to be determined by the occupation authorities. The daily complained that Israel is always trying to ignore it is an occupying authority and that international charters stipulate it is responsible for the safety of citizens under occupation. "It is ironic," the paper said, "that the Palestinians are being reminded of favors, while the occupation forces are showing their 'humanity' with the Palestinians' own monies."
Jordan's al-Ghad published a cartoon depicting the U.S. administration's unequivocal support for Israel and its policies. The cartoon in the independent daily, titled "Olmert's political program," showed a happy-looking Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, currently visiting Washington, presenting a document to President George W. Bush. The smiling Bush, wearing cowboy boots, is stamping an "OK" on the document, which reads: "Assassination, blockade, starvation."
