Israeli papers warn of second Mideast intifada in Iraq

Israeli papers warn of second Mideast intifada in Iraq

Agence France Presse
7 April 2004

JERUSALEM, April 7-- The growing fighting in Iraq knocked the
conflict with the Palestinians off the front pages of Israeli
newspapers Wednesday, with commentators warning of a second intifada
breaking out in the Middle East.

The left-leaning Haaretz daily led with a story headlined "Shiite
'Intifada' in Iraq: 130 Civilians and 20 Soldiers Killed" as
television footage showed Iraqi insurgents setting fire to Israeli
flags.

"The last four days of clashes in Iraq ... appear to be the the
first signs and maybe more so, of an uprising that has already
earned the title of intifada," the paper said in a front-page
editorial, referring to the Palestinian uprising that has claimed
nearly 3,900 lives since its outbreak in September 2000.

The top-selling Yediot Aharonot said the situation unfolding in Iraq
echoed the disastrous Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982,
spearheaded by the then defense minister and current prime minister,
Ariel Sharon.

The impact could well damage Sharon's chances of persuading the
Americans to back his plans to "disengage" from the Palestinians
when he visits US President George W. Bush at the White House next
week, it added.

"The situation there reminds the Israelis of the first euphoric days
of Arik Sharon's Lebanon War in 1982, which ended in a whimper,
after the thunder of exploding bombs," it said.

"The chips that fly from the sawing of the Iraqi tree reach the
Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem: The US president, on the eve
of elections, needs a serious achievement.

"This is not the time in the eyes of Bush and his administration to
exacerbate the quarrels with the Arab world."

An editorial in the right-wing Jerusalem Post said "the threat to
the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) and what it has achieved
in Iraq is dire" and warned that the unrest stirred by followers of
Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr indicated that the country could
lurch towards extremism.

"Just because Iraq's nominal future leadership favors a course of
moderation doesn't mean that's the course Iraq will take."

The paper's correspondent in the Iraqi capital said "currents of
dread surge through Baghdad's streets," adding that "Iraqis don't
really know what hit them."

Palestinian newspapers also led with the events in Iraq with the
east Jersualem-based Al Quds daily changing its later editions to
splash the killing of 12 US marines in the town of Ramadi, west of
Baghdad, late Tuesday.

"We see today a mass of Iraqis, Sunnis and Shiites, united in their
rejection of the occupation while coalition officials persist in
their mistake of presenting the protestors as a minority who are
hostile to democracy and a new Iraq," the paper said.
________________________________
Islamic Association For Palestine
P O BOX 1163 BRIDGEVIEW, IL 60455
Phone # 708-307-2937
Fax 708-974-3265
Web: http://www.iap.org - email: iapinfo [at] iap.org

Proudly Serving Palestine and Al Quds


To Subscribe visit: http://www.iap.org/subscribe.htm
__________________________________________

The Islamic Association For Palestine (IAP) is a national grassroots organization serving the American Muslim, Arab and Palestinian communities and dedicated to advancing a just and comprehensive solution to the cause of Palestine.

_____________________________
Unsubscribe: http://www.ymlp.com/u.php?iapinfo+cuibono [at] rcip.com
Hosting by http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com