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Last Updated: Wednesday, 4 June, 2003, 13:21 GMT 14:21 UK
Arabic press divided after Egypt summit

Press opinion in the Arab world continues to be divided on US President George W Bush's commitment to the Middle East peace process after Tuesday's summit at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

While some newspapers are buoyed by Mr Bush's call for a Palestinian state, others remain cynical about Washington's ability to be even-handed towards Israel and the Arabs.


The Aqaba summit is an opportunity for peace. It must be used.

Al-Ra'y - Jordan, pro-government


A feeling of optimism now pervades the Arab region, with the Sharm el-Sheikh summit and now with the Aqaba summit. This optimism is the result of the fact that the US president has fully realised the need for Israel to accept the plan for the creation of a Palestinian state.

Al-Jumhuriyah - Egypt, pro-government


The Sharm el-Sheikh and Aqaba summits may go down in history. Israel may turn them into a way to buy time, but the stance of the world, or rather the United States' stance towards peace in the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflicts, is today a new and positive stance. It may be very difficult for Israel to escape from it.

Al-Sharq al-Awsat - London, Saudi-owned


US President George W Bush said during the official talks in Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday that the world needs a Palestinian state. Such an official statement by a US president is considered a tangible change in the US' opinion on the current situation in the Middle East. We hope this statement will be transformed into action.

Al-Bayan - UAE, pro-government


President Bush claims that his mission is to find a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli issue. It is clear that he has succeeded in his first step. At the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, he succeeded in obtaining the "Arab key". The next challenge for him is to find the "Israeli key" at the Aqaba summit.

Al-Anwar - Lebanon, moderate


The transition between the Sharm el-Sheikh summit and the Aqaba summit in Jordan, his meetings with some Arab leaders and his avoidance of others, will give us the chance to see what importance President Bush attaches to his visit to the Middle East.

Al-Watan - Saudi Arabia, pro-government


After his success in Afghanistan and Iraq, it seems that President Bush is determined to impose change in the rest of the Arab and Islamic world in the name of the war on terrorism, with good manners, or with force if it is needed.

Al-Ahram - Egypt, pro-government, largest circulation


Peace in the region requires more than commitment to what these summits are discussing.

For more than five decades, Israel has ignored those resolutions with the support of an international front. Israel has always hindered the peace process.

Al-Jazirah - Saudi Arabia, liberal, Arab nationalist


The roadmap which the US considers a way to achieve peace is doomed to fail if the United States does not take into account, as a matter of priority, the restoration of Palestinian rights... It is important that the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, and after that the Aqaba summits, are not used as a platform for improving the image of the US and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the region.

Al-Thawrah - Syria, government-owned


President Bush's statement in Sharm el-Sheikh, in which he said that the US and himself are committed to achieving a Palestinian state, does not mean anything.

Al-Dustur - Jordan, pro-government


The US administration has two faces: one for Israel, to give it assurances that the roadmap will be amended, and the other for the Arabs, to reassure them that the roadmap will never be changed.

Al-Hayat al-Jadidah - owned by Palestinian Authority


We fear that the current Sharm el-Sheikh summit, which is being attended by US President George W Bush, will fail in the same way as past summits held in Sharm el-Sheikh have.

Al-Jumhuriyah - Yemen, pro-government


As for the US stance, the fact that Syria and Lebanon were excluded from the Palestinian roadmap and from the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, is an indication of a political punishment.

Al-Safir - Lebanon, leftist, Arab nationalist


We should not forget that another Arab country attended the Sharm el-Sheikh summit without any formal notice. This country is Iraq, whose president is considered to be the US president, if only for an interim period.

Al-Watan - Qatar, pro-government


BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.




SEE ALSO:
Bush lays out Mid-East aims
04 Jun 03  |  Middle East
Mubarak hails US commitment
03 Jun 03  |  Middle East
Bush statement: Full text
03 Jun 03  |  Middle East


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