‘Friends of Syria’ seen as ineffectual

Al-Quds Al-Arabi, the London-based Palestinian publication, dedicates its front page today to a thorough review of some of the disparate approaches in the Arab world to the necessary course of action in Syria. The lead story offers input from two main players — Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

The article opens by describing an organization called “Friends of Syria,” composed of various Gulf countries working in collaboration with the Syrian resistance. The coverage centers on the results of the organization’s latest meeting and press release: “We support the intensification of sanctions on the Syrian regime simultaneous with the assembly of a special force from the Arab League which will be charged with keeping peace and security in Syria.”

The paper, however, takes the Gulf countries’ recommendations with a grain of salt, noting a certain ineffectiveness in their pleas: “Despite the press release, Tunisia’s stance is merely a proposal and no active steps were decided upon during the meeting.”

On the Saudi side, the paper seems to commend a more proactive approach towards the conflict: “The Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal came out for the necessity of military intervention to bring forth an immediate end to the violence.” The article then highlights Saudi Arabia’s unwavering political stance: “Al-Faisal went on to call for the immediate removal of the Assad regime from Syria — be it willingly or forcibly.” This rhetoric is perceived by the paper as quite noteworthy, as it offers absolutely no equivocation as to the instigator of the violence in Saudi Arabia’s eyes.

The second front page article, right next to the lead, is from an unexpected Palestinian source. In it, Al-Quds Al-Arabi notes the surprising report that Hamas too has publicly come out against Assad and sided with the Syrian resistance. The paper reports that Ismail Haniyeh, Palestinian Prime Minister in Gaza and leader of the Hamas movement, came out for the Syrian resistance during a Friday prayer service: “In his Friday speech in Cairo, Haniyeh spoke out to support the right of any Arab people to aspire for freedom and democracy.”

The paper points out that these statements are very significant, since “Hamas was one of the last remaining Arab factions that still supported the Assad regime.” This recent loss of support from longtime-ally Hamas might very well be the harbinger that will initiate the complete loss of legitimacy for Assad in the Arab world.

Delays in the assembly of a new Palestinian government

The Palestinian news agency Ma’an reports Saturday on the difficulties that arose in the deliberations between Fatah and Hamas on the logistics of assembling a new government. The paper reports that the delays are largely due to “disagreements on the timing of the next election.” The original date for the Palestinian elections which was first suggested in Cairo — May 5 — is currently only tentative; and so, a representative on behalf of Fatah stresses the importance of setting a specific date since he claims that “without a concrete date for the next elections, there will be no legitimacy to the assembly of a new government.”

The same Fatah representative goes on to offer his interpretation of the cause for the delay in negotiations: “Hamas has been delaying the negotiations, since they still have quite a few dissenting factions within their midst that prevent them from forming a cohesive position.”

The news agency makes a point of ending the report with a bit of silver lining drawn from the negotiation:  “A decision was made as to the composition of the Palestinian Council — which will consist of 350 members.” The agency goes on to mention that a deadline was in fact determined for the talks — three weeks — but expresses a certain skepticism as to the feasibility of this deadline: “Whether or not all the logistic and administrative details can be sorted out during this period remains to be seen.”

Al-Quds reminisces

The East-Jerusalem publication Al-Quds, in its nostalgic section “Al-Quds Twenty Years Ago,”  features the paper’s front page from the same date in 1992. In it, the lead article reads: “Today is the beginning of the fourth stage in the bilateral negotiations.”

The article goes on to specify the brass tack issues that were discussed in the 1992 negotiations between the Palestinian delegation and the Israeli delegation under the patronage of America’s then-secretary of state James Baker: “The parties will talk about the gradual transference of power to Palestinian security forces as well as go over the specific delineation of rights to which the Palestinian citizens are entitled under Israeli occupation.” The paper follows up on the assembly of a Palestinian “Civil Council” — at the time, one of the first recognized parliamentary Palestinian bodies.

This story comes in contrast to the present reality, since — under the present regimes on both sides — bilateral negotiations have become an extreme rarity, let alone substantive coordination between the two governments leading to changes with practical ramifications on everyday life.

Thou shalt not cook a pita over an open flame

‘Cooking a pita over an open flame from a gas burner is extremely unhealthy as it emits toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that make their way into the pita’

The leading Egyptian daily Al-Ahram opens its Saturday Health and Food section with a much-needed warning for pita-lovers: “Cooking a pita over an open flame emitted from a gas burner is extremely unhealthy as it emits toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that make their way into the pita and run the risk of causing major health problems.”

This fact may come as quite the shock for urban and rural chefs alike, since open-flame-cooking is the by far the standard for both professional and homemade pita. Rest assured, however, that the paper does offer alternative methods for cooking pitas without incurring such health dangers: “The safest way to cook them would be either inside an oven or via the microwave.” We might have to stow away our gas burners, but we needn’t sacrifice our hummus transports just yet.