Source Note #15: Palestinians despondent regarding Israeli elections
Israel vote raises Arab doubts on peace (Al Arabiya, 2/11/09)
Palestinians have serious doubts that Israel’s new government will aid the peace process.
Topic: Should the Obama administration continue to support Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Category: Journalistic – mainstream
What is it? Website with the text of the article
Publication Information: Al Arabiya; Feb. 11, 2009
Author: Not listed
Location: http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/02/11/66265.html
Accessed: Feb. 12, 2009
Support:
Yasser Abed Rabbo, top aid to Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian president
Salam Fayyad, Palestinian prime minister
Gawzi Barhum, Hamas spokesman
Al-Quds, daily newspaper of the Palestinian territories
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, the Palestinian Authority’s daily newspaper
Al-Arhamn, Egypt’s state-owned daily newspaper
Al-Gomhuriya, Egypt’s state-owned daily newspaper
Ath-Thawra, Syria’s official daily newspaper
Jordan Times, Jordan’s English language paper
Dalal al-Bizri, Al-Hayat columnist
The above sources represent a variety of voices and media outlets speaking out against Israel’s new government. They state that no matter which party wins, interactions between Israel and Palestine will not improve.
Audience and Agenda:
Al Arabiya is an Arabic and English language news channel and a direct rival to Al Jazeera. Al Arabiya has a truly global audience with a significant audience both in Saudi Arabia and the United States. Its website provides daily news in addition to entertainment, international, and variety pages. According to its website, alarabiya.net regularly receives over 22 million hits a month.
Usefulness:
Palestinians seem to have little hope that a change in the government will bring peace to the region. The despondency stems from fears that the extremist right-wing, Likud, is gaining power. However, whichever party is in charge will be obliged to carry out promises made by the previous governing power. Whether or not the peace talks will be constructive is in the air. The Arab media does not hold higher opinions and expects more of the same — “murder, settlements, and destruction.” The general opinion of the Arab community is that Israel is not ready to compromise and create a decisive peace treaty.
Works cited:
Israel vote raises Arab doubts on peace
About Al Arabiya
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