Excerpts: Palestinian minister praises Obama. Al-Qaeda in Saudi.Arab summits
4 July 2008

+++JORDAN TIMES 4 July '08:"Palestinian minister praises Obama"
QUOTE: " 'He (Obama) promised he would not wait ...he will make it happen
from day one' "
EXCERPTS:TOKYO (AFP) - A senior Palestinian minister said 3 July that he was
pinning his hopes on US presidential candidate Barack Obama, believing he
would seal an elusive deal on creating a Palestinian state. The Palestinian
Authority's Planning Minister Samir Abdullah told reporters on a visit to
Tokyo he expected Obama to win the election in November and "look at the
Palestinian question and try to do something about it". "He promised that he
will not wait until the end of his term to launch negotiations and he will
make it happen from day one. I hope that he will fulfil his promise," he
said. . . .

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 4 July '08:"Al-Qaeda threat is serious: Al-Asheikh "
EXCERPTS:JEDDAH: The grand mufti of Saudi Arabia yesterday urged citizens
and residents to take the Al-Qaeda threat seriously and join hands with the
Kingdom's security forces in defeating the group.
"The finding of weapons and dangerous explosives to carry out subversive
acts and destroy economic installations... should not be taken lightly,"
said Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh.
. . . He further demanded coordinated action from Saudis and residents to
uncover members of the group."You should be aware that these militants, who
claim to work for the cause of Islam and defend Muslims, actually hide their
vested interests and vicious objectives," he said.Al-Asheikh warned Saudis
and residents against providing protection and refuge to militants.

+++AL-AHRAM WEEKLY 3-9 July '08:"Summits galore"By Amin Howeidi
HEADING:"All talk and no action is signature of Arab cooperation"

Arab summits are happening thick and fast, and all sound the same.. . .
In short, our summits are getting us nowhere. . ... Before leaders are
called into the room they have to know exactly what policy is acceptable and
what action is feasible. ...A summit's main job is to make decisions stick.
We cannot keep on degrading our summits by making them pass decisions that
are soon forgotten. . . . The writer is former defence minister and chief
of General Intelligence.
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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA