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'I can't guarantee having LE20,000 with me [the fine that could be paid when journalists are accused of slander]. So I'd like to be transferred to the crossword section." By Mohamed Omar in the Egyptian weekly Akher Saa before amendments were introduced to the new press law The situation in Palestine. 'We will not keep silent and we will not succumb. We announce our strong denunciation starting today.' By Hamed Najeeb in the daily Al-Ittihad of the UAE

"I'm dead certain that the new law will be passed without any amendment, and we will protest [for some time] and then we will continue writing and crying over spilt milk." -- Mustafa Bakri, Al-Osbou

"If some ministers and MPs imagined that they can put a bridle on the press by jailing journalists, it is most likely that they will deeply regret doing so, and they will find the jail doors wide open for them in the future." -- Abdallah El-Sennawi, Al-Arabi

"There are certain officials in the regime who try to persuade the president that when they are criticised in the press it is [a criticism] of his regime." -- Makram Mohamed Ahmed, Al-Masri Al-Yom

"Where are the Arab countries? Why are they turning their backs on the issue as if they were in another world or on another planet." -- Al-Khaleej

"It is true that he had not killed any Palestinians up to the moment he was captured, but he may have had he not been captured." -- Maher Osman, Al-Hayat

"No Arab government or people want to be dragged into a battle they know they will lose." -- Abdul-Rahman Al-Rashed, Asharq Al-Awsat