Weekly Arab Press Review (fwd)

["Clement M. Henry" <chenry@mail.la.utexas.edu>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 14:11:53 +0300 (AST)
From: Arab Press <arabpress@csfs-kuwait.org>
To: alnakib@csfs-kuwait.org
Subject: Weekly Arab Press Review

                           Weekly Arab Press Review
                             # 8 : Nov. 11, 2002

                  The Center for Strategic and Future Studies
                              Kuwait University

The Center for Strategic and Future Studies is a Kuwaiti think-tank,
affiliated with Kuwait University, and is directed by Dr. Shafeeq Ghabra.

The following report reviews the comments and reactions of Arab op-ed writers
in a selection of 13 Arabic newspapers, on the prevailing news issues in the
Arab world each week.

This week’s issue:  Early elections in Israel

The Middle East last week was the scene of two major events: the first in
Turkey where the Justice and Development Party took the lead in the
legislative elections, and the second in Israel where early elections were
announced.

Rajeh Al-Khouri, writer and analyst for An-Nahar newspaper (Lebanon, Nov. 5),
said that Benjamin Netanyahu accepted the position of Israeli Foreign Minister
with the agenda of “destroying efforts to reach a settlement with the
Palestinians and returning to the policy of peace by coercion that he tried to
impose when he was prime minister in 1996, in order to undermine all
accomplished agreements and to kick Ariel Sharon out of the leadership of the
Likud party and the government.”  Al-Khouri believes that meeting Netanyahu’s
conditions means that “the alliance between the Zionists and the new
Republicans in Washington would push the war with Iraq into broader directions
to include other areas and other states.”  He added that if the time is set in
Washington for war against Iraq, then the new leadership in Tel Aviv (with
Sharon, Netanyahu, and Mofaz) is making this fact even more evident.

Writer Abdelwahab Badrakhane said in Al-Hayat newspaper (London, Nov. 7),
that “everything necessary for war with Iraq is now ready in the United States
and in Israel, and the Security Council will not impede their eagerness.
Developments in Israel have aborted all international efforts including those
deployed by the Quartet.  The Palestinian elections will remain impossible
under occupation and Palestinians will have to wait not only until the end of
Israeli elections but also until the end of the war in Iraq.  In the meantime,
Sharon, Netanyahu and Mofaz will continue their war against the Palestinian
Authority and its institutions.”

Lebanese writer Abdelkarim Abu Al-Nasr said in Al-Watan newspaper (Saudi
Arabia, Nov. 2), that he did not expect any real change in Israeli political
life after the collapse of the coalition government, as the Israelis have
closed all doors to dialogue since Sharon came to power.  “The real decision-
makers, the Americans, do not want to break open these doors to save the
Palestinians from occupation and save the Israelis from their own aggressive
policy.”

Egyptian writer Atef Al-Ghamri said in Al-Ahram newspaper (Egypt, Oct. 30),
that the group leading the U.S. administration’s foreign policy seeks a
crucial position for Israel in the region after war against Iraq.

Kuwait Liberal MP Ahmad Al-Rubei warned in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper (London,
Nov. 3), that the Israeli government, which will group warmongers and
criminals like Netanyahu, Lieberman, and leaders of the Russian Jews in the
Knesset, will also include a number of Israeli politicians who believe in the
need for the collective “transfer” of Palestinians and for using Israeli air
force in attacks on different states in the Middle East and on Iran.  Al-Rubei
said that “Sharon’s new government will be like a car without brakes.  It can
hit anything in its way.  It is also a government that does not care about the
reactions of the different states of the world, as long as the world’s board
chairman (President Bush) believes Sharon is a man of peace and fully supports
his policies.”

An editorial in Al-Ahram newspaper (Egypt, Nov. 4), said that “the coming
Israeli coalition of the Likud party and small far-right and religious
parties, led by Sharon, will be the most extremist and aggressive government
in the history of the Jewish state.”

An editorial in Al-Khaleej newspaper (United Arab Emirates, Nov. 4), said
that “instead of Sharon being able to annihilate the Intifadha, the Intifadha
is instead besieging him and is about to destroy his political career.”

Damascus-based Palestinian writer Majed Kayali said in Al-Hayat newspaper
(London, Nov. 3), that “the decision of the Israeli Labor Party to leave the
government is due to a political reading of the coming period that shows that
Sharon’s extreme right government is unable to deal with the anticipated
regional and international developments.”  He added that there are also some
U.S. indications in this same direction, coupled with the fact that Sharon’s
popularity has been fading in recent months due to his inability to ensure
peace and security for Israelis.”  The Labor Party has jumped off Sharon’s
ship before it sinks, but a government led by Sharon and a grouping of far-
right and extremist religious parties will be dangerous for the region in the
coming months preceding the early elections, added Kayali.

Jordanian writer Mahmoud Al-Rimawi said in Al-Rai newspaper (Jordan, Nov. 2),
that the Americans are uneasy with Sharon who, during his latest visit to
Washington, told his host that he was not committed to the U.S. roadmap for a
Middle East settlement.  “The Labor Party’s ministers read the signals of U.S.
discontent with Israel and took advantage of this to submit their
resignation,” said Rimawi.

Jordanian writer Mustafa Muhammad Al-Far said in Al-Dostour newspaper (Jordan,
Nov. 5), that the resignation of the Labor Party ministers was a tactical
withdrawal in order to not be accountable for the worst economic crisis in the
history of Israel, and to make Sharon the scapegoat of any blame if early
elections take place.

_________________________________________
Center for Strategic and Future Studies
Kuwait University
Tel : (+965) 483-4197
Fax : (+965) 482-4645