US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel left Egypt and the rest of the Arab region in a state of shock. The media was occupied this week by denouncing the decision and looking for ways to either reverse it or face it. Hazem Mounir wrote that the US decision left the Palestinians with one option: an Intifada or uprising. Denunciation will not help at present, Mounir added in the private daily Al-Watan. It hasn't mattered ever since the Balfour Declaration 100 year ago. With the exception of the 1973 October War, we have been living in a state of continuous loss. In the meantime, Mounir explained, the “peaceful Intifada” created an unprecedented state of sympathy with the Palestinians. Thus, he suggested that we can face the current situation with a series of steps that start with another Intifada against the US decision, followed by unity among all the Palestinian factions which will force the Palestinian and Arab leadership to take the appropriate measures. "The peaceful Intifada in 1987 was the first step towards establishing a Palestinian state,” Mounir wrote. “Will the Palestinians succeed in launching another Intifada, 30 years later that will lead to building an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital?" Amr Al-Shobki wrote that the region is living in a state of “civilisational” defeat. Thus, Al-Shobki said in the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm that although armed resistance is one of the rights of occupied people, and although demonstrations against the Israeli occupier is one of the pressure cards used on regional and international decision makers, it cannot on its own achieve any victory in building a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinian divisions, together with internal Arab problems and the crises in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen, have put the Palestinian cause at the tail-end of priorities of many parties and encouraged Israel and the US to encroach on our rights. "Our civilisational defeat is clear. That defeat is not only shown in the gap in political and economic development but also in our inability to build a model capable of running a peaceful, legal and civilised conflict with the Israeli occupier," Al-Shobki concluded. The outcome of this week's visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Egypt was another issue that attracted the attention of the media. The daily Al-Ahram referred to the historic and strategic relations that bind Egypt and Russia. "Al-Dabaa nuclear project that the two presidents referred to in their meeting is not the first project in which the two states have cooperated. The High Dam will always remain the symbol of cooperation and deep relations between the two countries," the newspaper's editorial said. In addition to major joint projects, the edit added, Egyptians will never forget how Moscow provided the Egyptian army with badly needed arms at a time when several other states did not. Besides present regional issues, including Syria, Libya, Yemen and Iraq, together with the latest developments in the Palestinian issue, require coordination between the two nations to restore stability in the region, the edit concluded. Trump Trump By Ehab Al-Noubi, Al-Youm Al-Sabei
