Arab World and Arab Media Comments
Arab's Justification of Acts of Violence
The editorial included this irrational interpretation of political analysis. It goes like this: " The Sinai bombings offer Sharon an historic opportunity to promote tighter security coordination in the region and provide a justification for linking security coordination with economic and political interests. The response of Egyptian public opinion to the Luxor attacks of 1994 was sufficiently vehement to alter the course of fundamentalist violence, compelling many organizations to modify their thinking. If this was the case when the perpetrators were Egyptian, imagine the reaction when such attacks are linked to non-Egyptian groups?
HOW THE ARAB MEDIA EXPLAIN THE REACTION OF ARABS AND EGYPTIAN PUBLIC
According to the Arab media, it would be impossible to misconstrue the reaction of Egyptian public opinion to the Sinai operations and, in spite of the Egyptian government's attempts to play down the magnitude and causes of the bombings in order to prevent panic in the tourist industry, you can be sure that it is taking the matter very seriously. In addition, the Arab media , intentionally misinterprets facts and brings constants complaints against Israel in public gathering, forum, discussions and editorials. The latest unconceivable Arab explanation of the Sinai bombings and Israel security cooperation as published in numerous Arab newspapers confused the Arab readers and encouraged them to distrust any peace effort by Israel. One of the most illustrative editorials contained illogical analysis of what really happened in Sinai and what really the Israeli intentions are. It goes like this: " The first reaction of Israeli ministers was to hurl criticism at Egypt for being slow to allow in Israeli rescue workers. Such inanities and fictions are concocted for media consumption in times of public hysteria. Sharon quickly put a cap on that, reproaching his ministers for their pettiness and reiterating his opinion, and that of "experts", that had the victims all been Egyptian the Egyptian authorities could not have acted more competently, this is their capacity. Here was an opportunity for Sharon to extend his embrace to Egypt over the matter of security coordination in the fight against terrorism. He told his ministers to swallow their knee-jerk responses and keep their opinions about Egypt to themselves. Israel, as we all know, uses terrorism as a blanket term. And now, acting on Sharon's directives, Israeli ministers are suddenly singing Egypt's praises in the hope of flattering Cairo into closer security cooperation, even if that means meeting the Egyptian demand to amend the Camp David peace treaty to permit for a stronger Egyptian military presence in Sinai. Whether or not Egypt responds to these overtures, Israel has seized upon the Sinai bombings to step up its drive to establish a network of bilateral security cooperation links in the region, while simultaneously sustaining its brutal assault on Gaza."
CLIMATE OF WEARINESS
Some Arab newspapers kept the subject off the front page on the first day of the operation while others placed it towards the bottom of that page. Political commentators in leading Arab newspapers and Arab news agencies explain: "This suggests a drive to manufacture a climate of weariness over the Palestinian cause, to engineer fatigue among Arab public opinion. The only non-wearying items that appear newsworthy these days are discussions within the Palestinian leadership, or about the Palestinian leadership and possible candidates. This, for some reason, seems a perennially exciting subject. And it allows the Palestinian cause, and Israeli crime, to be reduced to a constant focus on the role of the Palestinian leadership and the need to change it. Those who would advise the Palestinians have tired of everything but harping on this crisis.
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