The Egyptian president’s grand surprise

The surprising sacking of Egypt’s military leadership Sunday by President Mohammed Morsi is leading the news in all Arab media Monday, with attitudes towards the move varying from very positive to very negative. The key word in the Arab press seems to be “surprise.”

“Egypt: Morsi strengthens his grip on power,” reads the headline of Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat, which never favored Morsi very much. The daily, which displays photos of the new vice president and new defense minister being sworn in, calls the move “a surprising development in the Egyptian political scene.”

“Morsi topples the Supreme Council and retrieves legislation,” reads the headline of London-based daily Al-Hayat, referring to Morsi’s cancellation of the constitutional amendments made by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) which granted it the right to legislate.

London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi is perhaps the most favorable towards Morsi: “Morsi retrieves his prerogatives from the army by canceling the constitutional amendment.” The daily describes the move as “a new surprise, which may not be the last.”

Al-Quds Al-Arabi editor-in-chief Abd Al-Bari Atwan calls the move “Morsi’s very soft coup” in an op-ed published Monday.

‘The strategic danger in Sinai is greater for Israel and the Islamists inside and outside Egypt than it is for the Egyptian military’

“In the blink of an eye … everything in Egypt was turned on its head. Dr. Mohammed Morsi went from being a weak president, disparaged by certain newspapers and television stations owned by the mafia of Mubarak-loyal businessmen, to a strong man who ‘cleaned’ the military establishment from all symbols of the previous era.”

Egyptian intellectual Mamoun Fandy, meanwhile, criticizes the excessive use of force in the Sinai Peninsula by the government in its fight against terrorist cells.

“Is Sinai a secluded part of Egypt, prone to fail like the tribal areas in Pakistan where American drones pursue members of al-Qaeda and hunt them down like birds?” asks Fandy.

Fandy concludes that Sinai is a regional problem rather than a problem of Egypt alone.

“The strategic danger in Sinai is greater for Israel and the Islamists inside and outside Egypt than it is for the Egyptian military and its ability to assert control over the country’s eastern borders,” writes Fandy.

The key word in the Arab press Monday seems to be ‘surprise’

Egypt’s main dailies seem mostly supportive of Morsi’s move. Establishment daily Al-Ahram delivers a very dry account of the facts, noting Morsi’s appointments, with no words of judgement. Independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm features mostly positive assessments of Morsi’s move, noting Israel’s “concern” with Morsi’s decision.

A “military source” denies rumors of “negative reactions” within the army to Morsi’s move in an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm. Surprisingly, the main dailies do not treat the dramatic developments in their editorial pages.

The battle of Aleppo continues

Syria is the second country to top Arab news Monday, with dailies reporting ongoing battles between the Free Syrian Army and the regime army for control of the city.

Irshad Hurmuzlu, an adviser to the Turkish president, tells A-Sharq Al-Awsat that the Syrian regime is attempting to trouble Turkey by arming Kurdish rebels belonging to the PKK. Hurmuzlu said the Syrian regime will pay the price for its provocation, as the Turks will not hesitate to pursue the Kurdish rebels on Syrian land.

Irshad Hurmuzlu, an adviser to the Turkish President, tells A-Sharq Al-Awsat that the Syrian regime is attempting to trouble Turkey by arming Kurdish rebels belonging to the PKK

Meanwhile, Al-Hayat reporter Hazem Al-Amin, reporting from Aleppo’s hinterland, claims that whereas in Idlib civilian life continues almost as usual, Aleppo is now witnessing true war. The town of Atareb, near Aleppo, used to have 40,000 inhabitants of which only 2,000 remain today.

Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera reports that Syrian National Council chief Abdulbaset Sieda called for a no-fly zone over Syria. Sieda told Reuters that the US understands that opposition forces cannot move freely without a no-fly zone.