Headlines from the Arab press

AL-HAYAT AL-JADEEDA (WEST BANK)

West Bank marks Arafat’s passing

The director of the Arafat Heritage Institute Nasser al-Qudwa said that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died four years ago on Tuesday, was “killed by poison,” adding that he expected solid information on the cause of his death to be revealed soon.

Meanwhile, as the Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip banned any rallies marking the four-year anniversary of Mr. Arafat’s death, the West Bank is due to hold a commemoration ceremony this week that will be attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

AS-SAFIR (LEBANON)

Lebanon, Syria to coordinate security

The visit of Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud to Damascus on Monday constituted a political breakthrough in the walls of suspicion and distrust erected between the two countries in the past three years, and for the first time opened the doors for real security cooperation.

Mr. Baroud and his Syrian counterpart, Gen. Bassam Abdul Majeed, agreed to form a coordination committee to activate security coordination in combating terrorism and crimes.

AL-SABAH (IRAQ)

Politicians reject Assad’s criticisms

Iraqi politicians and lawmakers said that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s criticism of an Iraqi-U.S. security pact was unjustified because the Iraqi government and parliament, as well as most of the political forces, reject attacks against any of their neighbors.

The politicians said the Arabs should not fear the pact because the Iraqis will never sign a deal that allows the U.S. forces to launch operations against other countries, noting that this issue is protected by the Iraqi Constitution.

AL-MASRY AL-YOUM (EGYPT)

Travels create leadership vacuum

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak paid a historic visit to South Sudan, while Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif left for Moscow to sign several bilateral economic agreements.

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