Fire in Damascus and at the UN
Arab dailies analyze UN speeches and Palestinian fume over Gilad Shalit's invite to a Spanish soccer match
A suicide bombing targeting the Syrian army’s central command building in the heart of Damascus is leading the news in Arab dailies Thursday, in what is described as a “painful blow” to the Assad regime.
“A suicide attack shakes the capital and hits the regime’s ‘nervous system,'” reads the headline of London-based daily Al-Hayat. The daily reports that the building is considered “the heart of the military operations against those demanding regime change,” noting that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) has claimed responsibility for the attack.
But Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat reports that an Islamic group has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted online, noting that “there are no known links between the Free Syrian Army and the group which claimed responsibility for the attack.”
‘Something in Bashar Assad’s mind tells him that Mohammed Morsi’s Egypt does not favor his departure’
In a separate article, Colonel Aaref Hamoud, deputy commander of the FSA, tells the daily that the building houses a “crisis management” center which oversees the regime’s military operations across the country.
Meanwhile, Qatar-based channel Al-Jazeera reports the killing of 320 Syrians Wednesday, one third of them “in a massacre in Damascus.” The channel describes it as one of the bloodiest days since the start of the uprising in March 2011, noting that 19 members of one family were killed in a summary execution in Damascus.
“Assad believes that Morsi’s Egypt does not want him deposed,” writes Lebanese Al-Hayat columnist Abdul Wahhab Badrakhan.
“Something in Bashar Assad’s mind tells him that Mohammed Morsi’s Egypt does not favor his departure. Therefor, he is courting Egypt, perhaps because Iran assures him that Morsi’s public discourse does not match his actual position. Perhaps Iran tells him that Egypt will soon settle into the Iranian orbit. Damascus and Tehran believe that throughout the crisis Cairo has spoken and continues to speak in diplomatic language, less shrill than that of the Arab League. It also wishes to warm its relations with Iran.”
Arab and Iranian speeches at the UN General Assembly
Much attention is given Thursday to the speeches of Arab leaders at the UN, and to the speech of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
A-Sharq Al-Awsat highlights Ahmadinejad’s messianic speech, in which he called on the world to prepare for the Mahdi, the hidden imam expected to return and govern the world in justice. The daily begins its coverage with Mohammed Morsi’s first UN speech, in which he said that the Muslim Brotherhood came to power following a long struggle and not as a result of “passing Spring or Winter winds.”
The daily also focuses on the speech of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who called for negotiations with Islamist elements in his county, including al-Qaeda, provided they forgo their weapons and stop receiving foreign support.
‘Ahmadinejad’s setting star no longer interests anyone, except Israel which peddles his slogans (erasing Israel, its disappearance) in order to extort Obama’s administration time after time’
Al-Hayat columnist Zoheir Quseibaty claims in an op-ed that Mohammed Morsi has gone to the UN primarily to reassure the American administration that his regime is not similar to that of the Al-Shabab in Somalia or the jihadists, who are contrasted with “civilized Israel” on posters in New York’s subway system.
Quseibaty also criticizes Obama for leaving the UN building following his speech in favor of election campaigning.
“Whereas Morsi needed to try his luck with the Americans, especially on cutting the link between economic aid for Egypt and allowing it to continue its traditional Arab policy; Ahmadinejad’s setting star no longer interests anyone, except Israel which peddles his slogans (erasing Israel, its disappearance) in order to extort Obama’s administration time after time.”
Palestinians angry over Gilad Shalit invite to soccer match
Saudi-owned daily Elaph reports anger on the Palestinian street following an invitation extended to former captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit to attend a soccer match between two famous Spanish clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid, known as El Clasico.
According to Elaph, the Hamas ministry of sports and youth officially condemned Barcelona’s invitation to Shalit. Muhammad Madhoun, the Hamas minister, said that the invitation constituted a blow to Palestinian Barcelona fans. One radio station in Gaza even decided to boycott the club and abstain from broadcasting any sports coverage of its achievements.
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