AMMAN, Jordan, March 21 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for March 21:
Palestine's al-Quds said in its editorial Wednesday while the Western world generally regards the Palestinians as the aggressors and Israelis as defending themselves, it appears the West is about to deal with the new Palestinian government despite Israeli calls to boycott it. The mainstream daily added that Israel will do its best to prevent an international recognition of the Palestinian national unity government, saying Israel is escalating its threats. It cited Israeli warnings to forcefully retaliate to a shooting of an Israeli near the border with Gaza, saying this requires the Palestinians to be realistic and work for their national interests at this stage. "We believe national Palestinian interests call for a comprehensive truce in all areas and for an official and media push on all levels in this direction," it said. "This is to show the world who is obstructing the peaceful political moves, who is the aggressor and who is rejecting all just solutions." The Jerusalem-based paper argued a "comprehensive calm" would expand the acceptance of the new Palestinian situation and lift the sanctions. It also called for a quick deal to exchange an abducted Israeli soldier with Palestinian prisoners.
Lebanon's an-Nahar said sanctions imposed on the Palestinians are crumbling and the new Palestinian government is on the way to being internationally recognized, whether Israel likes it or not. The mass-circulation daily added in a commentary that as soon as the new national unity government was formed, there was confusion from the West on reviewing the way it deals with the Palestinians. It cited Norway's recognition of the new government, saying Norway has a strong position in this regard since it mediated the interim Palestinian-Israeli peace accords in 1992. Israel, it argued, has found its position contrary to the West as it refuses to deal with the new government to prevent the crumbling of the sanctions. The paper said Washington now cannot completely close out the Palestinian government because it would mean shutting out Saudi Arabia, which had sponsored the agreement between Fatah and Hamas to form this cabinet. Therefore, it maintained, Israel has to recognize two matters: "The sanctions on the Palestinians are expiring and the American and European indications show a tendency towards giving the Palestinian government a chance, especially since the issue of negotiations with Israel has been delegated to (President Mahmoud) Abbas."
Egypt's al-Gomhuriya said the United States has lost its role as a sponsor of the Middle East peace process since it turned from an honest broker to an antagonist that supports Israel. The semi-official daily added in its editorial Washington has lost this role since it aided Israel in "killing Palestinians, planting settlements, erecting the Apartheid wall, destroying Lebanon in an aggressive war and threatening the security and stability of the Arab people with a nuclear arsenal that is not contained or internationally supervised." The mass-circulation said the most recent demonstration of U.S. support to Israel was the State Department's announcement of maintaining the sanctions on the Palestinian government in line with the Israeli position. It opined the continued U.S. sanctions on the Palestinians, inciting the international community against them and refusing to recognize the national unity government disqualifies America from carrying out its role as an honest peace broker in the region.
Yemen's al-Thawra criticized the escalating U.S. pressure on Syria, saying U.S. demands and threats virtually requires the country to shed its Arabism and its strategic interests to turn into a political entity that has nothing to do with Syria. The pro-government daily said the U.S. intentions towards Syria are clear and praised the "wisdom" and "cleverness" of the Syrian leadership in dealing with absorbing "the shocks," remaining steadfast against all Israeli-American pressures on it. It said the Syrian leadership is capable of dealing politically and diplomatically with the U.S. Zionist threats in a way that would prevent the Syrians from a military confrontation. It asked: "What does America want from Syria? Does it want to force it to sign a treaty with Israel and abandon its occupied Golan Heights? Is the aim to pacify Syria from carrying out any regional role in Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine or even Iran?" The paper insisted that every Arab should find a way to support Syria after having abandoned Iraq before its destruction.
Saudi Arabia's Okaz commented in its editorial on an American soldier who declared in an anti-war protest he would not return to Iraq and his statement that his commander ordered him to destroy a house in Baghdad on the pretext there are terrorists inside. But after demolishing the house, "I only saw the bodies of children, women and civilians," the paper quoted the soldier as saying. The semi-official daily said the "terrorist children" was only one of the daily U.S. lies that started with the lie about nuclear weapons in Iraq to justify its invasion. "The confessions of the American soldier represent one side of the dark picture; in the past four years of the occupation, the American war machine has harvested quarter of a million Iraqi lives, destroyed almost all of Iraq's capabilities and it has become a place of robbery for embezzling companies," starting with Dick Cheney's company, it said. The U.S. occupation, it complained, has also triggered sectarian strife and failed to accomplish democracy. "This is what the occupation achieved in the past four years, and it's not clear how much time is needed to rehabilitate it, if there is a desire to rehabilitate (Iraq) in the first place," it said.
