The winning Islamic group in Egypt must not reassure Israel and the US about the accords
As the first phase of the third and final round of parliamentary elections drew to a close in Egypt, giving the Islamist movements around 65 per cent of the vote cast, it looks like the Islamists in general will win the majority of parliamentary seats.
This means that they will be forming the cabinet and the decision-making bloc in Egypt, said pan-Arab newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi in its editorial.
In light of this new situation, the US found itself obligated to forsake its three-decade long boycott of political Islam and send Jeffrey Filtman, the assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, one of the staunchest supporters of Israel, to Cairo to check up on the future of the Camp David accords.
The Muslim Brotherhood's attitude towards the accords has been quite vague; spokesmen for the movement remained undecided on whether they would respect the terms of the accords or put them up for public referendum.
It was an intended ambiguity on the part of the Islamists, to calm Western fears and give priority to the elections and the domestic issues that interest Egyptian citizens.
"But now that the elections are officially over and Islamists won more than two-thirds of the votes, the Brotherhood is required to move from ambiguity to clarity regarding the Camp David accords and the relation ship between Egypt and Israel in general," said the paper.
After all, the Brotherhood drew its popularity and its high standing in Egypt and the rest of the Arab world from its declared animosity to Israeli bullying and occupation of Arab territories. The Brotherhood's present attitude does not at all reflect its adherence to this cause.
"The Camp David accords have been a stigma in the history of the entire Islamic world. They robbed Egypt of its leading role," the paper added. "Therefore, a firmer stance should be announced towards them.
"A popular referendum to decide on the future of the treaty would be the best and soundest of options at this point.
"It doesn't necessarily have to take place in the immediate future, but it must be accounted for in the future agenda of the Brotherhood."
The Islamic group would be ill-advised to reassure the US and Israel. On the contrary, it must stoke their fears and agitation, for they never showed it any respect in the past. In fact, they plotted with the Mubarak regime to oppress the Islamic entity and dwarf its role in Egypt's political life.
The Muslim Brotherhood's first order of business now should be to reassure Egyptian citizens and to hold on to its Islamic principles for which the Egyptians gave them their confidence and therefore, their votes.
Israel biggest winner in Palestinian schism
Palestinian officials are behaving like babies on the crucial and fateful issue of reconciliation, columnist Mazen Hammad wrote in the Qatari daily Al Watan.
Just recently Hamas denied a delegation from Fatah entry into the Gaza Strip for alleged "technical reasons". At the same time, Fatah decided to restart negotiations with the Israelis in Jordan without consulting with Hamas, its partner in the reconciliation agreement.
"It looks as if the partners are going down the escalation road once again," commented the writer. "Trust between them is at an all-time low as differences resurfaced despite numerous attempts to bring them together to the negotiations table."
It was believed in recent months, following the now-defunct reconciliation, that Fatah and Hamas have decided to join in efforts to facilitate the international recognition of Palestine in both Gaza and the West Bank. But, unfortunately, both sides managed to nip the reconciliation in the bud.
Each of the Palestinian sides is behaving as if the other is an independent entity.
"They are both to blame as we finally give up on any chances for a real reconciliation and, sadly, congratulate Israel for this new schism between the rulers of Ramallah and Gaza, which form together a mere 22 per cent of the original Palestinian territories."
Assad burns bridges in ponderous speech
The essence of President Bashar Al Assad's fourth ponderous speech this week reveals that he has declared a comprehensive war on the Syrian uprising and that he has resolved to brutally end the battle, suggested columnist Ali Hamadeh in the Lebanese daily Annahar.
Nothing changed on the ground in Syria since the arrival of the Arab League mission.
In fact, more than 400 people have been killed in the two weeks since the delegation's arrival in Syria.
"The situation has changed now. In his address, Mr Assad attacked the Arab League and some Arab countries, especially the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
"However, he did not announce that he would cease cooperation with the Arab observers or that he would withdraw his approval of the Arab protocol, which raises suspicions that he may be setting up some ambush for the observers," the writer added.
Mr Assad believes that his option to resolve the situation militarily, possibly with the assistance of Russia, would restore stability to Syria.
"President Assad has declared an open war in his fourth speech. He burnt bridges internally and externally."
* Digest compiled by Racha Makarem
