The Palestinian-owned Al Quds al Arabi daily ran an opinion piece by the chief editor Abdel Beri Atwan saying: "French President Nicolas Sarkozy disappointed hundreds of millions of Arabs and Muslims yesterday when he revealed his total bias in favour of the ongoing Israeli massacres in the Gaza Strip, after he blamed the victim and spared the Israeli criminal from any real criticism."
President Sarkozy held Hamas responsible for bloodshed in the Gaza Strip, stating that it acted irresponsibly and unforgivably when it refused to extend the truce and resumed the launching of missiles on the Hebrew state. "It is clear that the French government started to support these Israeli massacres after it was informed about the goals Tel Aviv is seeking to achieve during the visit conducted by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to France last Thursday, considering that the French official position completely shifted following this prompt visit."
The pro-Palestinian Authority Al Hayat al Jadidah daily carried the following opinion piece by Hafez al Barghouthi saying that in the summer of 2006, resistance groups detained an Israeli soldier along the border with Gaza in a "heroic" operation. Following that, Israel waged a widespread campaign of destruction in Gaza. In the meantime, Hizbollah waged a similar attack and detained two Israeli soldiers, in response to which Israel waged war against Lebanon.
Now, there is another attack on Gaza. "Everyone is expecting Hizbollah to open a second front and end the ceasefire agreement. Israel has prepared for this possibility and has summoned tens of thousands of reserve troops. However, I do not think that Hizbollah is willing to engage in another war because it does not enjoy the domestic Lebanese justifications to allow it to do so," Al Hayat al Jadidah reported.
Jordan's independent newspaper Al Arab al Yawm carried the following article by Taher al Adwan saying the Jordanians are rushing to express their outrage with the "Zionist carnage" in the Gaza Strip. "The Jordanians have united against the Israeli aggression, and most importantly, they have united in supporting the Palestinians," he wrote. Jordan was a pioneer in calling for an urgent meeting for the Arab foreign ministers at the outset of the aggression, he added. "Jordan - its king, government and people - wants an immediate stop to the aggression and insists on addressing the humanitarian catastrophic crisis suffered by the Strip due to bombardment and blockade." Popular voices have risen over the past ten days calling for expelling the Israeli ambassador from Amman. Last Sunday, the prime minister said that if the aggression does not cease, reconsidering relations with Israel will be an option, he wrote.
"The most eloquent words cannot describe the collective slaughters and the barbaric genocide perpetrated by the Zionist occupation in Gaza, the pace of which has risen over the past two days with the start of the barbaric ground attack," Jordan's pro-government newspaper Ad Dustour editorialised.
A family of seven members was "martyred", as was a pregnant woman. The death toll has risen to 550 dead and about 2,700 wounded. "The main reasons behind which the terrorist Zionists insist on continuing the aggression and committing massacres, are basically the Arab impotence and international silence, coupled with absolute American support for Israel, which prevented the Security Council from issuing a ceasefire resolution," the paper said.
* Compiled by Mideastdigest.com