Obama in Jerusalem and chemical weapons in Aleppo

Reports that chemical weapons have been used in the Syrian conflict for the first time are leading Arab headlines on Wednesday, which are referring to the matter as “a new level of danger.”

“Chemical weapons enter the Syrian crisis,” reads the headline of Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat. The daily reports an exchange of accusations between government and opposition over responsibility for the chemical attack in the Aleppo province, which killed 16 people and injured 86 civilians and soldiers.

Colonel Aref Hamoud, deputy chief of staff of the Free Syrian Army, told the daily that his forces had no Scud missiles that could carry chemical materials. He said the FSA only utilized locally manufactured rockets which could not deliver such substances, and that the FSA was never able to take control of regime chemical bases in order to capture chemical weapons.

London-based daily Al-Hayat reports of international concern following the use of chemical weapons, “which could lead to catastrophic results if widely used.”

The daily quotes American and NATO sources expressing grave concern over the developments, with NATO commander James Stavridis saying that certain NATO member states are preparing plans for military intervention in Syria, modeled after the organization’s operation in Libya to oust Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Meanwhile, Arab columnists weigh in on the new opposition’s government in exile and its leader, Ghassan Hitto.

A-Sharq Al-Awsat columnist Tareq Homayed says Hitto was selected as the first opposition prime minister in a difficult time, when mutual suspicion dominates the Syrian opposition amid fears of a Muslim Brotherhood takeover following Assad’s fall.

“Therefore, the selection of Hitto is the closest thing to a reconciliation process between all sides, especially considering his Kurdish origins, a fact that could reassure all elements of Syrian society,” writes Homayed.

The editorial of London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi focuses on Hitto’s refusal to negotiate with the Assad regime, a rebuff expressed in his first public statement. Hitto’s unequivocal language leads Al-Quds Al-Arabi to compare him to the intransigent Bashar Assad.

“This declaration, containing ‘hawkish’ language, proves that the prospects of a political solution to end the Syrian crisis have become nonexistent. The opposition, like the Assad regime, has begun adopting military and security solutions to end the crisis,” writes the editor.

“No doubt, Mr. Hitto boasts significant administrative experience gained through commercial work in the United States, as his supporters claim. But the situation in Syria is so complicated that it requires political genius to deal with.”

“Given that Washington has granted France, Britain and Arab States the green light to arm the Syrian opposition, and given the escalating tension on the Syrian-Lebanese border, the formation of a new transitional government may shut the door on a negotiated political solution. The coming days may be more bloody for Syria.”

Low Palestinian expectations for Obama visit

Palestinian editorials are expressing their disappointment with Obama’s first presidential visit to the region, before the visit even began.

Hassan Batal, writing for PA official daily Al-Ayyam, claims that he will be following the deliberations at the Palestinian donor state meeting in Brussels on March 21 more than Obama’s visit to Ramallah the same day.

“Why is the outcome of the Brussels donor meeting more important than a five-hour visit to Arafat’s muqataa in Ramallah? Because ‘man does not live by bread alone,’ is true, but also ‘give us our daily bread’ is true as well!”

Meanwhile, PA official daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah’s editor Hafez Barghouti bemoans the lack of international interest in the Palestinian plight during the Arab Spring.

“The Palestinian element is no longer active in the Middle East. The Islamic parties which fought Obama during his visit [to Cairo in 2009] are now the best companions and allies of the Americans in the region. They are an American Trojan horse which does not waste time in destroying the existing infrastructures in the region to create a scrawny, dirty Middle East designed according to the American-Israeli-Brotherhood world view. All the while, the Palestinian national project of liberation is gone with the wind.”

A-Sharq Al-Awsat columnist Bassem Jisr, in an op-ed titled “Nothing new in Obama’s visit to Israel,” claims Arabs have little to look forward to in the next few days.

“In Tel Aviv, the American president will renew his unflinching support for Israel’s security. He will reassure Jordan of his support for its policies, and will reassure the Palestinian president of his support for the Palestinian right to a nation and state … all these promises are not new, but what these capitals request of Obama is certainly different. He will either not want or not be able to deliver those things.”