Palestinians are partly to blame for their lot

In a comment piece for the London-based newspaper Al Hayat, Husam Ayati underscored the depth of the Palestinian crisis and the shortcomings of the approach adopted by the two main political blocs, Fatah and Hamas. Intensive Israeli settlement activities and the vandalism of a mosque in the West Bank were partly due to a lack of efficient efforts by the Palestinian political groups themselves.

"Needless to say, the Palestinians are partly responsible for their lot. This is because they keep repeating the same mistakes. Hamas, for instance, is still acting in the same way that led to the Israeli aggression on Gaza. Its unchanging attitude is only weakening the general Palestinian position, hence reducing chances to reach national reconciliation." The Palestinian Authority and Fatah are not in good shape either. "Faced with Israeli settlement activities, the Palestinian Authority and Fatah are acting inefficiently, and their only reaction was to refuse resuming negotiations. In a desperate move, they resorted to complaining to the US about the stalled peace process." The depth of crisis can also be seen in the gap that is widening between the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian refugees. "During the last visit to Lebanon by Mahmoud Abbas, the president of Palestinian Authority, he failed to visit the camps, claiming he would do it later."

"There is a growing belief among Israeli officials that the Turkish premier Recep Erdogan's continuous criticism of Israel represents an official attitude against it which can develop into a strategic trend by Ankara," observed Mazen Hammad in an opinion article for the Qatari newspaper Al Watan.

The latest statements by Mr Erdogen indicated that any Israeli attempt to use Turkish airspace to spy on a neighbouring country would be strongly countered by Turkey. Mr Erdogen went to warn Israel against any attempt to exploit its relationship with Ankara to launch a war against a third party. "The Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yossi Levy said that the general feeling prevailing on the political scene was that Mr Erdogen was continuously criticising Israel with the aim of creating a rapprochement between Turkey and the most extreme wing in the Middle East."

The Israelis feel surprised by the Turkish attempts to back the Iranian regime by describing the president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a friend and his nuclear programme as a civil one. For this reason, the Israelis are urging the Turkish government to change its policy towards the Iranians on the grounds that their intimate relations with Tehran may jeopardise its regional as well as its international role as a mediator in the long run.

"The GCC summit that officially kicked off yesterday in Kuwait came amid new regional and international developments which require coherent action by Gulf countries to defend the interests of the whole region," wrote Fadheela al Muaini in a comment piece for the UAE newspaper Al Bayan. A number of important political, economic and security issues were on the agenda.

"The Gulf leaders need to take a unified position in the best interests of all. Indeed the GCC's peoples have always been linked by bonds whose importance outstrip mere economic or political gains. What actually binds them is a great love which overlaps with ties of blood and kinship."  It is true that GCC countries may be involved in controversial talks, and that may take some time before reaching a consensus. Yet the constants of the GCC and its peoples remain solid and there has always been a strong will to preserve them.

"We have a strong belief that this organisation will always meet the aspirations of its peoples. It is under the umbrella of the Gulf union that it is possible to achieve a sustainable future for the region. Now all eyes are on the Kuwait summit and there is great hope it will meet the interests of all and yield positive results to achieve greater coherence and convergence in various fields."

"When the former British prime minister Tony Blair acknowledged that his country would have entered the war with Iraq regardless of whether that country had possessed weapons of mass destruction, the important point was that he lied first to his own people and then to the whole world," noted Tariq Musawra in an opinion piece for the Jordanian daily Al Rai. In a televised interview, Tony Blair did not say why he took part in the war on Iraq although the aim was known then: to overthrow Saddam Hussein. "Assuming that, why did Mr Blair not say that the war was aimed at saving the region from the corrupt regime of Saddam and ensuring security and a prosperity for Iraqis?

"The Americans said that Iraq and Afghanistan, both freed through military action, were among the most corrupt countries in the world. They had the highest infant mortality rate and the highest emigration rate. Seven years after the invasion, they came to say that they are still in need of more than half a million troops to strengthen their foothold in Iraq and thus perpetuate the war. The least that can be said now is that Mr Blair has become a model of political failure and moral degradation."

* Digest compiled by Mostapha Elmouloudi [e-mail]