Syria slams the 'veteran terrorist' Sharon

Palestinians reject both sides in Israeli election

On the eve of the Israeli prime ministerial elections, the Syrian media have been weighing up the candidates and attacking Likud leader Ariel Sharon as a racist and terrorist.

The success of a veteran terrorist like Sharon... does not provoke any condemnatory reaction

Al-Baath

The newspaper of the ruling party, Al-Baath, said it was almost certain that Mr Sharon, "one of the most racist, terrorist, and criminal" symbols of the modern age, would emerge victorious from the vote.

And it rounded on the US and Europe for their failure to distance themselves from him.

"The success of a veteran terrorist like Sharon, as happened with Shamir, does not provoke any condemnatory reaction and does not prompt the United States and Europe to adopt any position that expresses fears of the dangers his victory could pose to security and peace in the region."

"In contrast, the United States and Europe leave no stone unturned against those they falsely brand as terrorists, to cite the example of the Lockerbie case," the paper says.

No difference

According to Syrian radio, the positions of Mr Sharon and Prime Minister Ehud Barak are "the same in substance, although they may sometimes differ in formulation".

Sharon vilified over `terrorist' past

Both candidates, the radio says, oppose Israel's return to the 4 June 1967 borders, insist on keeping settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and object to the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

"Given the positions of Barak and Sharon, trying to find a difference between them is like comparing someone who is bad with another who is worse."

Mr Sharon and Mr Barak are "two faces of the same coin".

It is useless to wager on either of them

Syrian radio

Both candidates have a "black record, but it is more savage and bloodier for Sharon, the one behind the Sabra and Shatila massacres, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982..."

The radio concludes that "it is useless to wager on either of them."

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.