Doaa El-Bey shares the widespread sadness caused by the racist killing of an Egyptian woman in Germany The banner of the London-based independent political daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi read, "Anger in the funeral of the hijab martyr". In the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat , Mahmoud Al-Mubarak wrote a long article headlined "A crime against the hijab in Germany". He first blamed the Arabic media for not covering the incident extensively and raised a number of questions, including how one person can kill another inside a court in full view of the judge and the tribunal police. He also queried why nobody stopped the assailant when he was using a knife which takes a longer time than a pistol to kill, how nobody could stop the killer when he stabbed the victim's husband who rose to defend his wife. In short, how could the court change into a bloodbath and nobody interfered? And how could a trained police officer shoot the victim's husband instead of the killer? Al-Mubarak said the questions should be raised especially when the Western media completely ignores them and gives the incident scant coverage. In addition, he blamed the Western media for refraining from describing the killer as a terrorist, which leads to the bitter truth that the Western media deals with terrorist actions as if they are a Muslim trademark. They simply ignore these kinds of attacks when committed by non- Muslims. "In fact, hate crimes against Muslims in the West are on the rise. I am not sure whether they are prompted by campaigns waged by the West against Muslims immigrating to Europe or by statements issued by some politicians against the hijab," Al-Mubarak concluded in the London- based independent political daily Al-Hayat . Many newspapers expressed frustration at the failure of the sixth round of talks held in Cairo aimed at reaching an agreement between Fatah and Hamas. Hafez Al-Barghouti wrote the Egyptian mediator has lost hope in bridging the gap between Fatah and Hamas as there are still pending issues in the five files that are being discussed, including the agenda of the national unity government, representation in legislative elections, reforming the security forces and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. In the hope of bridging the gap between the Palestinian parties, Egypt suggested the formation of a joint committee that would work on the differences until legislative and presidential elections are held early next year. The Egyptian suggestion to which both Fatah and Hamas have reservations, was regarded by some as an attempt by Egypt to throw the ball into the Palestinian court and by others as a way to co-exist with division and the establishment of two governments: one in Gaza and the other in the West Bank. And that would mean, as Al-Barghouti added, the formation of the first confederal state under occupation. Hamas believes that time is on its side as it has put the Palestinian Authority in an embarrassing position especially after Israel wrote off the two- state solution. Thus, in the absence of a framework for negotiations and in confrontation to the Israeli campaign to build more settlements, Palestinian public opinion is likely to be more intransigent. In addition, Israel's rising extremism would be met by Palestinian extremism which would further improve Hamas's position, as the writer summed up in the United Arab Emirates daily Al-Bayan. Ragab Abu Serreya asked Hamas why it has not reached agreement with Fatah up till now in order to end the continuous suffering of one and half a million Palestinians as a result of the blockade and internal divisions. Abu Serreya said he believed Hamas is the first loser by breaking away from Fatah. The core of the Palestinian Israeli talk is now on the West Bank. Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, is excluded at present. The writer also asked Egypt why it did not declare its failure to bridge the gap between the Palestinian parties and gave the parties a chance until 25 July. "What could happen until that date?" Abu Serreya asked in the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam. "It seems that the Palestinian parties are living on Mars, or else they would have been keener to put an end to Palestinian suffering. That applies more to Hamas which should give up its hesitancy and respond to the calls for agreement," Abu Serreya concluded. In the London-based political daily Asharq Al-Awsat, Abdel-Rahman Al-Rashed said there is no logic in what is happening between Fatah and Hamas. If Israel does not separate Gaza and the West Bank, the two parties would have engaged in a bloody war. He wondered why the two parties are talking about reconciliation and holding repeated rounds of talk in Cairo when they are exchanging foul language and charges on a daily basis. He ascribed the failure to reconcile to the selfishness of the leaders of both parties who prefer to stay divided. Any previous reconciliation attempts led to an escalation of fighting. Thus the writer suggested that the best thing to do at present is to let the two parties boycott each other for some time. They should abstain from meeting, shaking hands or issuing positive or negative statements against each other for at least a year. But even that suggestion was regarded as impossible by Fatah officials. "At present we are facing a growing crisis that was not resolved by the Fatah-Hamas divorce in the West Bank and Gaza. Given that reconciliation is impossible and a boycott is difficult, perhaps we can use the term 'bridging gaps' instead," Al-Rashed concluded. The Qatari daily Al-Watan looked at the deteriorating situation in Somalia. The newspaper's editorial read that it is living in a state of anarchy with no light at the end of the tunnel. The civil war which started 18 years ago caused huge casualties and destroyed Somalia completely. Nevertheless, its citizens are adamant in following such a bloody and costly track as if the number of the victims of war is not enough. "As long as Somali citizens are not willing to end it, it is high time for effective intervention by the international community to put an end to the killing and this absurd war that has continued for 18 years," the edit concluded.
