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Arabs in dispair over Palestinian street fighting
 CAIRO, Egypt - Arabs were in despair on Thursday over the Gaza fighting between Palestinians, and governments that have tried to mediate between the warring factions appeared to be at a loss over how to stop the bloodshed. The new explosion of violence strikes a blow to Arab efforts to win a resumption of the peace process with Israel. For months, Arab leaders have been trying to get the divided Palestinian factions in order to prove to Israel and the United States that now is the chance to talk peace.
| As opposed to all the other times we talked peace. Worked well, too. |
The infighting is a shame by all measures, Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of London-based Al Quds Al-Arabi newspaper wrote in a bleak editorial Thursday. They are fighting over an illusory power, a rotten corpse.
| And they haven't hit bottom yet. |
Saudi Arabia put its political clout on the line in February when it hosted a summit between the leaders of the mainstream Fatah faction and the militant Hamas - aimed at ending a previous bout of fighting between them. The summit between Fatahs Mahmoud Abbas, who is the ineffectual Palestinian president, and Hamas Khaled Mashaal ended with a power-sharing agreement.
| Which lasted a couple days, about as long as we expected. |
But Saudi Arabia has been silent since clashes between the two sides resumed this week, in five days of fighting that has killed at least 48 people. It is hard to see Saudis or anyone else expending political capital and sticking their neck out for the Palestinians while gunmen controlled by Hamas and Fatah turn Gaza into a homegrown killing field, Lebanons Daily Star newspaper said in an editorial.
| Might as well see who's the last man standing. And then watch the Israelis cut that man down. |
 Other Arab leaders have been able to do little else but call for an end to the fighting. President Hosni Mubarak, who mediated between Abbas and Mashaal during a meeting in Cairo last month, spoke by phone with Abbas on Thursday, telling him, Palestinian blood is sacred.
| It's okay when they say such nonsense to the western infidels, but when they talk to each other like this they're truly delusional. |
Jordans King Abdullah II also spoke to Abbas, urging him to show some spine more resolve to end the fighting and to press Hamas to stop rocket attacks on Israel that threaten to widen the conflict.
| Press Hamas .. how? The whole problem is that Mahmoud won't roll over and do as Hamas says. |
Arab television stations showed constant images from Gaza, which looked like a war zone, with masked gunmen in the abandoned streets and people rushing the wounded away on stretchers. Al-Jazeera broadcast live from its offices in Gaza, where journalists in flak jackets and helmets were trapped as gunfire raged outside.
| Funny, it didn't look near that bad when the Israelis were in charge. |
Viewers in the Arab world - long loyal advocates of the Palestinian cause - were stunned. May God curse you all, renowned Egyptian columnist Ahmed Ragab wrote, referring to the Palestinian factions.| He did that long ago, Ahmed... |
Some blamed the Palestinian factions for a futile fight over power. America, Israel and the whole West want to see us divided, said 47-year-old Kamal Abu-Zeid, wearing thick eyeglasses, and selling newspapers in front of Cairo University.
| I don't know about the rest of America, but I'm certainly enjoying it. |
Posted by: Steve White 2007-05-18 |
