Lebanon quivers as Assad’s end looms

The formation of a new Syrian opposition government and a Syrian regime attack on Lebanese soil lead the news in Arab dailies on Tuesday, as the Free Syrian Army targets a presidential palace and an airport in Damascus.

“The FSA pledges loyalty to the opposition government,” reads the headline of the Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat, featuring a photo of opposition leader Moaz Khatib during deliberations in Istanbul on Monday.

The chief of staff of the FSA, Salim Idris, told the paper that his forces commit to defending the new government and its members “even in the heart of Damascus.” Idris expressed concern that the West was not fulfilling its pledge to supply rebels with quality weaponry, saying that dearth of arms may prolong the Syrian crisis by a number of years.

The London-based Al-Hayat leads its coverage of Syria with reports that the FSA struck at a number of targets in central Damascus, including the Tishrin presidential palace and the Kufr Sussa security district. The opposition also launched rockets and mortars at Damascus International Airport, clashing with government forces on the road between Damascus and the airport.

The daily quotes “highly knowledgeable sources” in the Syrian opposition as saying that the US has asked the Syrian opposition to delay the announcement of the new opposition government.

Finally, however, the government was declared, and it is to be headed by Ghassan Hitto, who according to Al-Jazeera received 35 out of 49 valid votes early Tuesday morning.

Hitto, a 50-year-old IT expert and American citizen of Kurdish origin, left Syria during the 1980s.

Samir Nashar, a member of the opposition’s executive office, tells Al-Jazeera that Hitto plans to enter Syria in the coming month and win the trust of leaders on the ground, whom he will consult. After forming his government, Hitto will embark on an international tour to win the support of the exiled opposition government, Nashar adds.

Meanwhile, the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi leads its front page news with the headline “A first Syrian aerial strike on positions inside Lebanon; the American administration gives the green light to arm the Syrian opposition.”

The daily quotes an official in the US State Department as saying that the Syrian attack is an unacceptable breach of Lebanese sovereignty.

“Lebanon is being swept into the Syrian swamp,” reads the paper’s editorial, which claims that Lebanon is quickly approaching two types of wars: the first, a domestic civil war; the second, a regional one.

“The criminal assault on four clerics from the Sunni denomination… by a group of Shiite youth yesterday may serve as the spark that will ignite a civil war in a country experiencing extreme sectarian polarization,” reads the editorial.

“Lebanon is experiencing tensions that are growing day by day due to media and newspapers, which are fanning the flames of sectarianism and turning Lebanon into an arena where supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime are sparring. At the same time, Lebanon has become a conduit for arms and fighters.”

The Lebanese opposition daily Al-Mustaqbal links the attack on the Sunni clerics to the Syrian aerial attack on Arsal, an area along the border with Syria.

“Now that the Syrian revolution has entered its third year with the promise of approaching victory, the dictator of Damascus will not hesitate to use any means to ignite Lebanon in the hope that the Lebanese smoke will serve as a cover allowing him to cling to power. He has already shed the blood of his entire people to that end,” reads the editorial.

Obama’s ‘tourism’ in Israel

Al-Hayat columnist Elias Harfoush is not enthusiastic about US President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

In a column Monday, Harfoush claims that with a new right-wing government in Israel, Obama has little chance of reinvigorating the peace process.

“It was necessary for US President Barack Obama to pack his bags and head for Israel and the PA in order for the Palestinian-Israeli issue to advance to the forefront and win a measure of interest, after it had sunk to the bottom of world interest during the long season of the ‘Arab Spring,'” writes Harfoush.

“However, this visit is doomed to failure before it has even begun. All expectations are shrouded in disappointment, indicating nothing more than a touristic visit for the American president in between Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem. Benjamin Netanyahu has prepared a bad reception for Obama, hurrying to form a new government tasked with preventing any progress on the peace process.”