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Gaza raids met by loud silence from the Arab world
As the death toll in Israel Defense Forces raids against miltiants firing rockets from Gaza climbed to more than 60 on Saturday, Palestinian Information Minister Riad al-Malki responded by saying: "Hamas gave Israel an excuse to start a war in Gaza."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also responded along these lines by saying that the "operation in Gaza is not just a reaction to the rocket barrage." Both comments can be interpreted as Palestinian backing of the Israel Defense Forces ground incursion in the Strip.
Moreover, the very mild Egyptian reaction and the conspicuous absence of a convicting Arab voice also indicate that the IDF raid is perceived by the Arab world to be first and foremost a war against Hamas, not the "real Holocaust" of the Palestinian people - as Khaled Meshal claimed on Saturday. The fact that Al Jazeera devoted a whole episode of a popular debate show to the question "Why are the Palestinians keeping silent about the situation in Gaza?" also serves to prove this point.
Hamas will therefore have to concentrate its efforts not only on the Israeli offensive or on getting the support of the Arab countries, but mainly on shattering the Israeli definition of this war - from one directed against a terrorist organization to a full-fledged war on the entire Palestinian people.
More
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/959611.html
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This week, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moallim undertook a tour of Arab Gulf capitals to deliver invitations for participation in the two- day official Arab gathering scheduled to commence 29 March. Riyadh, however, was not immediately included. The fury of Saudi monarch King Abdullah over what he qualifies as Syrian influence obstructing Lebanese progress in electing a head of state is widely understood as the basis for Riyadh's reluctance to even receive an invitation to the summit.
According to several Arab diplomats, Riyadh is sending a message to Damascus that it needs to extend an invitation to Lebanon if it wishes to host and chair the Arab summit as scheduled. Otherwise, there is a possibility that Saudi Arabia might not turn over the chairmanship of the Arab summit to Syria at all. On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia moved its ambassador in Damascus to Doha without nominating a successor. In line with the rules of the Arab League, Syria is the next host state by virtue of alphabetical order. As such it has to invite all other 21 member states and the secretariat of the organisation. Syria has so far avoided a clear stance on the issue of Lebanese participation.
More
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/886/fr1.htm