Thursday, June 19, 2008

Arab press

AL-BAYAN (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES)

Bush seeks help on bin Laden arrest

President Bush has asked for help from the British Special Forces to help capture al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

A U.S. intelligence source said if Bush succeeded in getting rid of Saddam Hussein and arrests bin Laden before his term expires, he can then claim he made the "world a safer place."

AL-HAYAT (LONDON)

Zebari says Obama vows no 'dramatic changes'

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told Al-Hayat that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama's campaign aides assured Baghdad two weeks ago that he "will not introduce dramatic changes in Washington's policy toward Iraq if he wins the election."

Mr. Zebari said that the commander of the U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, also expected "no sudden or quick changes because Obama listens to the views of the leaders on the ground."

AL-RAYAH (QATAR)

Gadhafi: Obama ignorant or lying to Jews

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi criticized in a speech Sen. Barack Obama's remarks to a pro-Israel U.S. lobby that Jerusalem should remain Israel's undivided capital.

Col. Gadhafi said that "our Kenyan-American brother Obama's statements on Jerusalem, supporting the Israelis and ignoring the Palestinians, show he is either ignorant of international politics and doesn't understand the logic of the Middle East conflict, or he's lying to the Jews in his election campaign."

AL-MASRY AL-YOUM (EGYPT)

Olmert aides foresee talks with Syria soon

Aides to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel and Syria will soon be able to carry out direct negotiations.

The aides said the current indirect negotiations, held through Turkish mediation, may likely become face-to-face in the coming phase between the two states.

AL-HAYAT AL-JADEEDA (WEST BANK)

Abbas, Rice see settlements as hurdle

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice agreed in a meeting that Jewish settlements constitute the biggest obstacle to peace.

Miss Rice said Israel's continued settlement construction harms the peace negotiations, but thinks that it is still possible to reach a Palestinian-Israeli deal this year.

AZ-ZAMAN (LONDON; IRAQ)

14 female bombers attack in six months

Local officials in Iraq's Diyala province, north of Baghdad, said that 14 female suicide bombers have blown themselves up in the past six months.

Intelligence sources said al Qaeda plans to dispatch 25 more women from other areas to carry out further bombings in the province.

AN-NAHAR (LEBANON)

Assad to attend French celebration

In a new sign of rapprochement between Paris and Damascus since the Lebanese presidential election in Lebanon, a French presidential source said that Syrian President Bashar Assad will be among France's guests celebrating the national independence on July 14.

In response to French opposition to this matter, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said that "Syria has fulfilled its obligations regarding the conflict in Lebanon."

AL-GHAD (JORDAN)

Prison for defendants in Hamas weapons case

Jordan's State Security Court last week handed a 15-year prison term to one man and five years at hard labor to two others in the "Hamas weapons" case, but the verdict may be appealed.

The tribunal convicted the men, arrested in 2006, on charges of illegal import and possession of weapons and explosives, plotting to assassinate the Israeli ambassador in Amman and blowing up the house of a Jordanian intelligence officer.

OKAZ (SAUDI ARABIA)

Siniora rejects Olmert's call for negotiations

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora rejected a call by his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Olmert, to hold bilateral negotiations because the conflict between Israel and Lebanon is ruled by international resolutions that are nonnegotiable.

He said in a statement the issues linked to comprehensive peace, particularly the right of return for Palestinian refugees, involve the entire Arab parties, and are within the Arab peace initiative.

AL-AYYAM (WEST BANK)

Four martyrs in Israeli raid in Gaza

Three people, including a little girl and a resistance fighter, were martyred and six others were injured during an Israeli occupation raid in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.

In Jabaliya, an elderly man was killed and his 10-year-old daughter was injured in their homes by an Israeli air strike.

TISHREEN (SYRIA)

Assad gets message from Sarkozy

Syrian President Bashar Assad received a message from his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, delivered by his aides, Claude Gueant and Jean-David Levitte, during a visit to Damascus last week.

Mr. Assad held fruitful talks with the French officials on bilateral relations, developments in the region, especially Lebanon, and the peace process. They agreed to continue contacts.

Compiled by Sana Abdallah of the Middle East Times in Amman, Jordan.