The media throughout the Arab world has been fairly consistent, as previously reported in Arutz Sheva?s Arab Press Review, in categorizing acts of wanton murder, including suicide bombings, carried out against Jews by Arabs as ?resistance,? while calling Israel?s actions against those behind the terrorist attacks ?terrorism.? The recent American-led war on the Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorism has provided some Arab authors fertile ground for colorful analogies between ?terrorists?, here and there.
An Egyptian newspaper, al-Ahram, addresses those ?who hold a living conscience in the US or Europe I ask this: Do Palestinian possess an army? The answer is an emphatic no. They are a group of defenseless civilians facing a military machine to be least described as wild and racist.? Not only do they not possess an army, according to the editorial, they cannot ?because of the topography of the terrain, engage in a guerrilla war; the easy narrow planes prevent this.? Left with no options and ?faced with a heartless enemy,? the Arabs have nothing left to do ?except die? But with their death they would wish to throw terror in their occupiers' hearts. This is the framework in which Palestinian suicide operations must be place and according to which they should be understood.?
Echoing the al-Ahram sentiments, an Egyptian Gazette article states that when ?a disillusioned Palestinian blew himself up in central Jerusalem?? the Israelis were meant to understand ?that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his coterie are acting in a misguided and irrational way? in their acting against PLO leader Yasser Arafat. The Gazette editorial calls the Israeli equation of Arafat with Osama Bin Laden ?unfair and illogical for a host of reasons?? and asks ?how can the US agree that Arafat is another bin Laden?? According to the Egyptian Gazette article, the comparison is false, among other reasons, because ?Arafat is a president chosen by his people of their own free will, while bin Laden is a person who only represents himself and an outlaw gang.?
Furthermore, as in al-Ahram, the Gazette claims that the PLO is not engaged in terrorism. ?What terrorism is the US talking about?? asks the Gazette column, ?This insistence on regarding Palestinian resistance as acts of terror is counter-productive. Palestinians' actions are aimed at their oppressors and occupiers of their land. On what basis are the Palestinians treated as terrorists, while nothing is mentioned about the Israelis, the killers of men, women and children? Is it not an act of terror when Israel bars Arafat from leaving for trips abroad? Is it not an act of terror when Israel threatens to continue ruthless attacks on Palestinians until Sharon, himself a 'super-terrorist', becomes convinced that the Palestinian Authority is fighting terrorism??
Sharon is not just a ?super-terrorist,? but another Mulla Muhammad Omar of the Taliban, according to the London based a-Sharq al-Awsat. The Saudi Arabian newspaper published an article stating ?Sharon should be classified as the same type as Mulla Muhammad Omar of Afghanistan, but without a beard. Omar banned education for women and though Sharon did not go that far, in pursuit of his goals, he is deeply involved with radical religious figures.? Therefore, the ?problem is? dealing with his warped mind.? The article calls for an end to any further meetings and negotiations, because ?[s]uch figures as Sharon and Omar may be military men, but they are not necessarily shrewd politicians.? Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, on the other hand, is characterized by a-Sharq al-Awsat as ?like an insignificant employee in the large firm of the barbarous Sharon.? The newspaper credits former Prime Minister Menachem Begin with being a ?shrewd politician,? while Peres ?was a bad soldier??
A-Sharq al-Awsat goes on to predict that ?Israel cannot escape from the quicksand unless it does one thing: end the occupation of Palestinian and Syrian lands.? The Egyptian al-Ahram newspaper, in a different editorial column, seconds the Saudi prediction and adds that ?the Palestinian cause constitutes the central issue of the Arabs.? Implying the direction that such an Arab focus could take, the Egyptian newspaper ominously counsels, ?if Israel felt how heavy was the human toll after ?the black Tuesday? attacks, the Israeli people should ask themselves how long would such whirlwind of violence and contra-violence carry on? And why??
An Egyptian newspaper, al-Ahram, addresses those ?who hold a living conscience in the US or Europe I ask this: Do Palestinian possess an army? The answer is an emphatic no. They are a group of defenseless civilians facing a military machine to be least described as wild and racist.? Not only do they not possess an army, according to the editorial, they cannot ?because of the topography of the terrain, engage in a guerrilla war; the easy narrow planes prevent this.? Left with no options and ?faced with a heartless enemy,? the Arabs have nothing left to do ?except die? But with their death they would wish to throw terror in their occupiers' hearts. This is the framework in which Palestinian suicide operations must be place and according to which they should be understood.?
Echoing the al-Ahram sentiments, an Egyptian Gazette article states that when ?a disillusioned Palestinian blew himself up in central Jerusalem?? the Israelis were meant to understand ?that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his coterie are acting in a misguided and irrational way? in their acting against PLO leader Yasser Arafat. The Gazette editorial calls the Israeli equation of Arafat with Osama Bin Laden ?unfair and illogical for a host of reasons?? and asks ?how can the US agree that Arafat is another bin Laden?? According to the Egyptian Gazette article, the comparison is false, among other reasons, because ?Arafat is a president chosen by his people of their own free will, while bin Laden is a person who only represents himself and an outlaw gang.?
Furthermore, as in al-Ahram, the Gazette claims that the PLO is not engaged in terrorism. ?What terrorism is the US talking about?? asks the Gazette column, ?This insistence on regarding Palestinian resistance as acts of terror is counter-productive. Palestinians' actions are aimed at their oppressors and occupiers of their land. On what basis are the Palestinians treated as terrorists, while nothing is mentioned about the Israelis, the killers of men, women and children? Is it not an act of terror when Israel bars Arafat from leaving for trips abroad? Is it not an act of terror when Israel threatens to continue ruthless attacks on Palestinians until Sharon, himself a 'super-terrorist', becomes convinced that the Palestinian Authority is fighting terrorism??
Sharon is not just a ?super-terrorist,? but another Mulla Muhammad Omar of the Taliban, according to the London based a-Sharq al-Awsat. The Saudi Arabian newspaper published an article stating ?Sharon should be classified as the same type as Mulla Muhammad Omar of Afghanistan, but without a beard. Omar banned education for women and though Sharon did not go that far, in pursuit of his goals, he is deeply involved with radical religious figures.? Therefore, the ?problem is? dealing with his warped mind.? The article calls for an end to any further meetings and negotiations, because ?[s]uch figures as Sharon and Omar may be military men, but they are not necessarily shrewd politicians.? Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, on the other hand, is characterized by a-Sharq al-Awsat as ?like an insignificant employee in the large firm of the barbarous Sharon.? The newspaper credits former Prime Minister Menachem Begin with being a ?shrewd politician,? while Peres ?was a bad soldier??
A-Sharq al-Awsat goes on to predict that ?Israel cannot escape from the quicksand unless it does one thing: end the occupation of Palestinian and Syrian lands.? The Egyptian al-Ahram newspaper, in a different editorial column, seconds the Saudi prediction and adds that ?the Palestinian cause constitutes the central issue of the Arabs.? Implying the direction that such an Arab focus could take, the Egyptian newspaper ominously counsels, ?if Israel felt how heavy was the human toll after ?the black Tuesday? attacks, the Israeli people should ask themselves how long would such whirlwind of violence and contra-violence carry on? And why??