Al-Ahram Weekly

Hurried half-measures
The deal brokered at the Sharm Al-Sheikh summit fell short of Arab aspirations and was simply an attempt, with questionable success, to scale down Israeli violence against Palestinians. Nevine Khalil, in Sharm Al-Sheikh, writes

Word on the street
What does public opinion make of the performance of Egyptian diplomacy in the peace process? Dina Ezzat seeks answers

Palestinian flag over the Nile
As university students engage in fierce battles to go out on the streets, school children make a game of burning Israeli flags, mothers admonish their kids against buying American fast-food, and theatre actors interrupt their performances to lecture on the Palestinian cause, Fatemah Farag observes the dawning of a new political climate in Egypt, and the region

Normalisation group fractures
As some advocates of normalising relations with Israel become disillusioned, Nadia Abou El-Magd wonders whether the Cairo Peace Society will survive the Al-Aqsa uprising

National unity under stress
The Palestinian Intifada was marked by a new national unity between the Palestinian factions -- until Israel started to bomb Palestinian cities. Graham Usher reports from Gaza

'Resistance will always unite us'
For Hamas's Khaled Misha'al, who spoke to Sherine Bahaa by telephone from Damascus, the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the popular support for it throughout the Arab world reaffirm the power of popular resistance

Point of no return
Hours after the Sharm Al-Sheikh summit concluded with verbal commitments to end violence, Mustafa Al-Barghouti told Sherine Bahaa the outcome fell short of Palestinian aspirations

By the people, for the people
What is the PA's role in the new Intifada? Abdel-Jawwad Saleh reads the signs

Selective outrage
Khaled Amayreh, in the West Bank, wonders why Palestinian lives are supposed to be so much cheaper than Israelis'. And, what were the two soldiers up to in the heart of Ramallah?

Hizbullah strikes again
The capture of a former Israeli colonel this week was another heavy blow dealt by Hizbullah to Israel, reports Dalal Saoud from Beirut

Whose anger?
A bomb exploded near a US destroyer in Yemen, killing 17 Americans. Nobody seems to know who was responsible. Nasser Arrabyee reports from Sana'a

Broker dreams
The European Union auditioned for the role of "honest broker" in the Middle East. But France buckled under Israeli pressure. Dominic Coldwell reports from London

'Ask Clinton why'
As bloody Palestinian-Israeli confrontations reverberate throughout the US, American Arabs and Jews exchange rally for rally, reports Thomas Gorguissian from Washington

'A familiar ring'
The US-based Black Radical Congress sees history repeat itself in Palestine. Israel must recognise that it cannot be simultaneously ethno-religiously-based and democratic, charges Gamal Nkrumah

The time for talk is over
Officials and the press in Iran condemned the two-day emergency peace summit in Sharm Al-Sheikh saying it is aimed at "influencing" next week's Arab summit in Cairo and sidetracking the Intifada

Softening condemnation
Seeking backup
Jordanians want treaty scrapped