Commentary from Arab newspapers

[Shammu]

Attacks on Lebanon, Gaza will bring Israel no good

Lebanese newspaper As Safir, said on July 13 that Israel's relentless attacks against its neighbors will not make it a "normal state" and it will not bring it the security it seeks to impose by force. The independent daily, with pan-Arab nationalist trends, commented that while Israel can pound Lebanon's infrastructure, try to assassinate resistance activists, perhaps strike Syria and even reach Iran, this will not resolve the Palestinian question or release Iran from the conflict.

It asserted that as Israel tried to harm the Palestinian Authority and exploit its divisions, it is now trying to "blackmail the leaders in Lebanon, betting on exploiting their divisions." However, it warned, all these attempts will not work in Lebanon, just as they failed in Palestine.

It said Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah insistence that the Lebanese government had no knowledge or involvement in the cross-border operation helps in "freezing" the Lebanese political rifts. The mass-circulation daily insisted the unity of the Lebanese was the source of their power, saying that "as long as they are united, the Israeli attack cannot achieve its goals, no matter what."

[Shammu]

Hizbullah just wanted to swap prisoners

Lebanese newspaper, An Nahar, said on July 13 that the Shia Hizbullah organization's capture of two Israeli soldiers had undoubtedly been aimed at securing the release of Lebanese and Arabs prisoners held in Israel. The anti-Syrian daily said it was a "just cause" that may also pave the way for resolving the issue of Palestinian prisoners.

[Shammu]

Hizbullah humiliated Israeli military forces

Syria's Al Thawra on July 13 praised the Hizbullah operation against Israel as a new blow and "humiliation" to Israeli military insolence and a message that its military arsenal will not protect Israel "as it exercises all its aggression."

The state-run daily said in its editorial that no one can deny the right of the resistance to try to retrieve the freedom of its prisoners in Israel and no one can defend the Israeli obstinacy in refusing to exchange its prisoner for thousands of Palestinians and Arabs it holds.

It insisted the "only language that works with the Israelis is resistance, and any other method is useless."

The paper said the joy that spread in the Arab street and the congratulations they exchanged over Hizbullah's successful operation shows that the "culture of resistance is likely to spread, because it has proven its success and has become the culture of the Arab street, which is always ready to pay the price of the resistance."

[Shammu]

Hizbullah's 'expertise' against Israel

London-based Al Hayat carried an opinion on July 13 that said Hizbullah's cross-border operation has so far been the best needed response to Israel's "brutal terrorism in Gaza" and shows that Hizbullah has become an "expert in deterring the Israeli insolence." This, it said, strengthens the group's standing inside Lebanon and in the Arab region among those who believe in resistance.

The Saudi-owned daily insisted that Israel could have resolved its crisis in Gaza with more reason, but it has been blinded with its excessive use of force, adding it will likely exercise the "worst kind of brutality against Lebanon and maybe against Syria, while it remains safe from any accountability from the international community and the United Nations."

The paper, distributed in most Arab capitals, complained the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations had exaggerated in their negligence of Israel's "crimes" against the Palestinian people and has failed to push Israel to respect the human rights of Arab prisoners it holds.

In addition, it said, the international community has failed to respect Palestinian democracy and instead adopted the Israeli occupation's position in boycotting the elected Palestinian government, "joining a fascist system to punish the people and starving them."

It warned if there is no direct international intervention, Israel's declared aggression on Lebanon, and maybe on Syria, will mostly aim to target civilians.

[Shammu]

Why no calls to release Palestinian prisoners?

London-based daily, Al Quds Al Arabi, said on July 13 it did not understand repeated calls by many, including Arabs, for Hizbullah to release the two Israeli soldiers when no one utters a word about thousands of Palestinian and Arab prisoners held in Israel.

The independent Palestinian-owned paper said exchanging prisoners being sought by the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance was not an Arab or Muslim invention, but something that has been exercised for hundreds of years.

It insisted Hizbullah's operation was legitimate and presents "Arab-Islamic solidarity in its brightest form," having carried out a move with a purely military target, unlike Israel, which it said mostly targets civilians and their installations.

It predicted the Israeli retaliation might have benefits for the Jewish state in the short term, but they will lead to "disastrous results in the medium and long term, because they will unleash an explosion in the region that will create huge difficulties for the current moderate regimes that signed peace treaties with Israel," in reference to Egypt and Jordan.

The paper asserted that only Israel is to blame for this serious security collapse it will face on its northern front with Lebanon and its southern front with the Gaza Strip.