Arab press blasts roadmap delay

Arab newspapers accuse Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of blocking the road to peace with the Palestinians.

Some continue to express concern at the Riyadh and Casablanca bombings. Others link the two issues, charging Israel with committing comparable "terrorism" against the Palestinians.

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The main cause of the new wave of violence and the man in charge of the bloodletting is Ariel Sharon, with his government of the right and extreme right. It is they who have slammed the door in the face of the peace process and destroyed its maps.

Al-Dustur - Jordan

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There must be a real international move to match words with deeds, since Israel is stubborn and rejects all initiatives, including the roadmap.

Al-Ba'th - Syria

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Sharon accepts only those aspects of the roadmap that are convenient to him and rejects those that contradict his interests.

Al-Safir - Lebanon

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It is thought that Sharon will soon blow up the roadmap despite the great concessions made by the Palestinians, because this contradicts his terrorist ideas and upbringing. He will seriously resist any chance for peace.

Al-Akhbar - Egypt

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Yasser Arafat is besieged in one or two rooms in Ramallah, and yet what is demanded from him is that he ensure security for those criminals leading the Zionist war.

Al-Khalij - UAE

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It is very regrettable that those who support the Hebrew state are the same people who encourage it to rebel against the will of the international community and its laws. By this we mean the Americans.

Al-Bayan - UAE

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After the bombings targeting US nationals, and while terror, apprehension and caution grow among Americans and people in the region, does the US president still think he can achieve peace and stability for the American people through tyranny?

Al-Ra'y Al-Am - Kuwait

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Al-Qaeda has begun to reactivate its dormant terrorist cells in a number of other Arab countries to disrupt Arab-international relations and the security equation in the region.

Al-Ahram - Egypt

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Despite terrorism and all these events aimed at shaking our country's stability, we should not forget what is happening in Palestine. It is as if terrorism has made us impotent or even forgetful of the Israeli crimes and schemes against the Palestinians.

Al-Watan - Saudi Arabia

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Israel is exploiting Arab and world worries about the plague of terrorism. It is exploiting fedayeen (suicide) operations to carry out this plan.

Al-Watan - Saudi Arabia

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The Israeli authorities have intentionally and quickly connected the recent explosions with the terrorist bombings in Riyadh and Casablanca. They are trying to appear a victim of terrorism while practising the worst type of state terrorism by occupying Arab lands.

Oman - Oman

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Sharon has used the incident in which a bus was blown up as a pretext to postpone his visit to Washington, claiming it is not he but 'terrorism' that is the obstacle to the roadmap.

Al-Jumhuriyah - Egypt

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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.