RAMALLAH, May 22, 2011 (WAFA) – The local Arabic dailies focused Sunday on two prime issues: the events in Syria and the US-Israeli talks. The editorials focused on Obama's speech and chances of Fayyad running the new Palestinian government.
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida’s main headline that went across the front page said “Washington warns Tel Aviv against rejecting US president’s peace initiative.” It also had a top front page headline quoting Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Shaath as saying that “Our strategic choice is to go to the UN in September.”
Al-Ayyam’s top front page headline said “US disappointed by Netanyahu’s position.” It also said in a different headline that President Abbas has called for an urgent meeting for the Arab League to discuss the US peace initiative. Al-Ayyam’s second top front page headline focused on the killing of civilians during the funeral of those killed in the Friday protests in Syria.
Al-Quds’ main headline also dealt with the issue of Syria, yet it also reported on the crisis in US-Israeli relations due to Netanyahu’s rejection of US President Barack Obama’s peace initiative. The paper also reported on the talks the Palestinian factions are holding in Moscow on reconciliation.
The editorial in Al-Quds tackled a local subject that had to do with punishment for honor killing and violence, praising and supporting Abbas’ decision to increase punishment on those involved in honor killing in particular following the killing of a girl in Hebron by her uncle that has shocked the entire Palestinian community.
Two of Al-Ayyam’s opinion writers discussed chances of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad for running the new government. One writer, Hamadeh Fara’neh, defended Fayyad and thought that Fayyad’s success as prime minister was not due to his support by Western countries, rather due to his professionalism.
The second writer, Hani Habib, talked about what intellectuals in Gaza say about Fayyad in their discussions, presenting various views on Fayyad’s performance, some in his favor and other criticizing him.
The third opinion piece in Al-Ayyam, by Akram Attallah, discussed Obama’s speech and said that the Palestinians were lucky to have someone like Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister of Israel because his quick rejection of what came in the speech has saved the Palestinian Authority from giving a quick answer that would have put it in trouble.
The writer said Obama’s speech was an Israeli speech, but it should not panic the Palestinians because it was not any different from already known US policy in the region expressed most recently in the US veto of an anti-settlements UN Security Council resolution.
Ibrahim Deibis, writing an op-ed piece in Al-Quds, said that Obama’s speech, while it reflected pro-Israel US policy in general, particularly as Obama is hoping to run for a second term in office, it did, however, had something new.
“What is important and new in Obama’s speech was his call for a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with agreed land swap, which is exactly what we are demanding,” he wrote. He said the Palestinians should take advantage of this and utilize it to their benefit, particularly as Netanyahu is facing increasing international isolation due to his rejection of Obama’s initiative.
M.A.
