Excerpts: Britain's Conservatives back sanctions if Iran remains
defiant.Turkey's P.M.Erdogan earns Saudi O.K.Biden visit in West Bank
results in Palestinian woman terrorist memorial cancellation.Islamists to
hold rally near Jordan River.Maltreatment of Egyptians in Arab
Countries.Saudi to repatriate terrorists.'All Lebanon responsible for any
Hizbullah attack' March 11, 2010

+++JORDAN TIMES 11 Mar.'10:"Tories calls for arms embargo on Iran ",Reuters
QUOTE:"Irans lack of cooperation 'warrants a firm and strongly reinforced
response from the rest of the world' "
FULL TEXT::LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Conservatives, favourites to win an
election due in weeks, said on Wednesday(10 Mar) they would back a UN arms
embargo on Iran and a ban on oil and gas investment if Tehran remains
defiant over its nuclear plans. Iran's lack of cooperation with the UN
nuclear watchdog "warrants a firm and strongly reinforced response from the
rest of the world," William Hague, the opposition party's foreign policy
spokesman, said in a speech. Hague's stance is tougher than that adopted by
Britain's Labour government or the current proposal before the United
Nations, which does not call for sanctions against Iran's oil and gas
industries, as an earlier French draft proposed. He said the Conservatives,
ahead in the polls before an election widely expected in May, had long
advocated intensive diplomacy, a resolute display of unity from European
countries and tough action at the UN Security Council to try to resolve the
Iran issue.

+++JORDAN TIMES 11 Mar.'10:"Erdogan gets Saudi nod as Mideast force",By Paul
HandleyAgence France-Presse

SUBJECT: Turkey's P.M. Erdogan earns Saudi O.K.

EXCERPTS:RIYADH - Turkey's role as a key player in Middle East and Arab
affairs was set in cement when the Saudis honoured Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan with a prestigious prize for his "service to Islam". With its
own efforts to advance Palestinian-Israeli peace talks flagging, and
arch-rival Iran shrugging off pressure to halt its nuclear drive, Riyadh
blessed Ankara's rising assertiveness in the region in hopes that Erdogan
can bring some progress, analysts said.
On a visit to Riyadh to receive the King Faisal Prize for Service To Islam -
presented by King Abdullah himself late on Tuesday(9 Mar.) - Erdogan minced
no words in staking out his own role.
"We are not spectators," he told a group of top Saudi editors at lunch on
Tuesday(9 Mar) as he offered his views on conflicts involving Iran, Syria,
the Palestinians, and even Yemen.
He said Turkey expected to be the intermediary for revived peace talks
between Israel and Syria, and rejected US-pushed sanctions for Iran, which
Riyadh has expressed discomfort with.
"I don't believe that any further sanctions will yield results," said
Erdogan, whose country is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council
that could vote on any new Iranian sanctions resolution by the year's end.
The Turkish premier also insisted Hamas be at the table for
Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, which Saudi Arabia has resisted.
"We cannot bury our head in the sand," he said of Hamas' role.
"If we want to achieve positive results, then the talks must include all
parties.
Mustafa Alani, research director at the Gulf Research Centre, a Dubai-based
think tank, said Turkey wanted "more involvement, and the Arab and Gulf
states want them more involved". "Turkey has a very unique position, they
have good relations with Iran and with Israel. This is an advantage for us,"
said Alani.
The recognition represented a turn by the Saudis, who have long pushed the
line that Arab problems are for Arabs to sort out - a policy directed at
Tehran, which Riyadh views as a dangerous meddler.
With Turkey's bid for European Union membership stalled over the Cyprus
issue, and Erdogan's apparent turn from Ankara's former secularist political
stance, they now had a role to play in a broader "Islamic politics". "We
look at Turkey as a counterbalance to Iran," Alani said.
. . .
With 1,000 top Saudi officials, academics and foreign diplomats in
attendance at the prize banquet, the King Faisal Foundation lauded Erdogan
as having "rendered outstanding service to Islam by defending the causes of
the Islamic nation, particularly the Palestinian cause and the just rights
of the Palestinian people". "At the international level, he was a leading
Muslim founder of the call for rapport between civilisations and a
passionate advocate of constructive dialogue, openness, and principles of
international understanding and cooperation," said the foundation's chief
Abdullah Al Othaimeen.
The King Faisal prize comes with a hefty gold medal and $200,000 cash, but
for both sides that was hardly the point.
Though it came from a private foundation, the prize was clearly a sign of
approval from the Saudi leadership. The King Faisal Foundation is closely
tied to the Saudi foreign policy establishment.
The prize "acknowledges Erdogan personally and Turkey as well in our
strategic calculation", said Alani.
It was the second Erdogan received in as many weeks after he was granted the
first UN award in memory of slain former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq
Hariri.

+++FULL TEXTJORDAN TIMES 11 Mar.'10:"PA cancels Mughrabi memorial",Reuters
RAMALLAH (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority ordered on Wednesday(10 Mar)
the cancellation of a ceremony to honour a woman who led a 1978 hijacking of
a civilian bus in Israel in which 35 people were killed. The cancellation of
Thursday's (11 Mar)ceremony coincided with a visit to the occupied West Bank
by US Vice President Joe Biden, who met with Palestinian leaders as part of
Washington's efforts to revive the moribund Middle East peace process. Three
Palestinian officials involved in organising the event to honour Dalal Al
Mughrabi, killed in the Palestinian attack, said Israel told the Palestinian
Authority to cancel the ceremony at which a traffic circle near Ramallah was
to have been named after her and a memorial plaque unveiled. The Israeli
army, which controls access to the city, said initial checks could not find
record of such a demand. Mughrabi is remembered as a heroine by Palestinians
in their quest for an end to Israeli occupation and the creation of a
Palestinian state. Israelis consider her a terrorist.

+++JORDAN TIMES 11 Mar. '10: "Islamists to hold rally near Jordan River"
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
AMMAN - The Islamist movement plans to hold a rally in the Jordan Valley on
Friday(12 Mar) to protest against Israeli measures in Jerusalem and other
parts of the Palestinian territories, according to Islamist officials.
The rally, which aims to protest against plans to include the Ibrahimi
Mosque and the Bilal Ben Rabah Mosque among Israeli heritage sites, will be
held at Abu Obeidah Mosque in Deir Allah, a few kilometres from the banks of
the Jordan River.
According to Muslim Brotherhood officials, the government has granted
permission for organisers to go ahead with the event, which is expected to
attract hundreds of Islamist supporters and activists.
"We extended invitations to hundreds of people from across the Kingdom to
participate, including leaders of opposition parties, professional
association activists and prominent independent figures," said Kathem Ayesh,
member of the Muslim Brotherhood shura council and event organiser.
He noted that the location of the rally will be limited to the boundaries of
the mosque, stressing that protesters will not be allowed to head near the
Jordan River.
"We want to send a message that Israel cannot carry out its agenda in
Jerusalem and Bethlehem. All Jordanians will stand together in this
important turn in the history of Palestine, the Arab and Muslim worlds,"
Ayesh told The Jordan Times, noting that the Islamist movement plans a
series of events in the near future to warn against "Israeli designs" on
holy sites as well as its settlement expansion.
"We urge the Palestinian leadership to end all forms of contact with Israel
until it has withdrawn its plans in Hebron and stopped building settlements
in Jerusalem and other parts of Palestine," he added.

+++BIKYA MASR (Egypt) via Egypt Daily News 11 Mar.'10:"Committee: Egyptians
in
the Arab countries face humiliation"
QUOTE:" 'worst kind of treatment and suffer humiliation' "
FULL TEXT:CAIRO: The Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the
Egyptian People's Assembly Mostafa el-Fiqi said Egyptians living and working
in Arab countries face the "worst kind of treatment and suffer from great
humiliation." During the meeting of the committee on Sunday(7 Mar), he
called for the need to develop rules to protect Egyptians abroad, "like in
the Philippines and the Gulf."
Fiqi stressed that the joint committee for foreign relations and manpower
would hold a meeting next week to discuss the "project of establishing the
Public Authority for protecting Egyptians abroad to reach safeguards and to
ensure the protection of the Egyptians outside the borders of their
homeland."
Member of Parliament Khalil Quetta, Under-Secretary of the Committee, said
that Egyptians abroad are like "orphans" and called for more communication
between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Egyptians abroad in order to
"preserve their rights and dignity."
For the past few years, Egyptians working abroad have complained of poor
treatment at the hands of their sponsors and bosses. The Egyptian government
has repeatedly promised to intervene to ease their situation abroad.
In response, Mohamed Abdel-Hakim, Assistant Foreign Minister for Migration,
said that "the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is always bearing the mistakes of
Egyptians abroad and the consular sector operates 24 hours a day to solve
their problems."
**reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam

+++SOURCE: SAUDI GAZETTE 11 Mar.'10:"Repatriation of Saudis from Gitmo in
the
cards"
By Abdullah ObeedallahAl-Ghamdi andAbdulmohsen Al-Harithy

EXCERPTS:RIYADH - Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Interior, said Tuesday(9 Mar) that the Kingdom was closely
pursuing the repatriation of Saudi nationals held at Guantanamo.
Prince Naif also said that Saudi troops deployed on the southern borders
would leave the area "soon", noting that the military base in Jizan was
supported by a larger base in Abha.
"There are several terror suspects being tried by courts and other suspects
will be put before the courts when investigations are complete," Prince Naif
added.

+++NAHARNET (Lebanon) 11 Mar.'10:"Not Looking for Confrontation but Lebanon
Responsible for Any Attac"
Quote:" Israel was 'not looking for confrontation' "
FULL TEXT: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak reiterated that the Jewish
state would hold the Lebanese government responsible for any attack but
reassured that Israel was "not looking for confrontation."
"We are not looking for confrontations. Israel will not initiate attacks in
the northern arena but we are strong and deterring," Barak said on Tuesday(9
Mar) during a meeting with high school students in northern Israel.

"If we are forced into a confrontation, we will not seek to run after every
Hizbullah operative in some village . but rather we would hold the
government of Lebanon and all of Lebanon responsible for any Hizbullah
attack," according to Barak.

"We strongly advise them not to try and take action against us," he said.
Speaking before Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday(8
Mar), Barak said: "In the field of opportunities, we consider the peace
process with the Palestinians and the chance of moving forward to a
diplomatic agreement alongside the threats from Hamas, Hizbullah and Iran."
=======================================
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA