DATE=10/09/03

TYPE=WORLD OPINION ROUNDUP

NAME=ISRAEL / SYRIA ATTACK

NUMBER=6-130123

BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE

DATELINE=Washington

EDITOR=Assignments

TELEPHONE=619-3335

CONTENT=

INTRO: The world press is focused on the implications for Middle East peace of Israel's airstrike on Syria in response to a Palestinian suicide bombing in Haifa. We get a sampling now from V-O-A's __________ in this week's World Opinion Roundup.

TEXT: Even though most papers were very critical of the restaurant attack by a Palestinian suicide bomber who killed herself and 19 others, they were also alarmed by Israel's response. The retaliatory bombing deep inside Syria of an alleged terrorist training camp is causing several dailies in Europe, Asia and Latin America to worry about a "big new war."

We begin in Britain, where London's Daily Mail suggests:

VOICE: When it seemed as if things couldn't get worse in the Middle East, they have… Every new act of violence, from whichever side it comes, makes peace less likely.

TEXT: And to the London Times, which worries the raid: "will set off political shockwaves… [immediately strengthening] the hand of the [Syrian] hardliners in the Army and many security services who oppose President Assad's faltering attempts at reform…

In France, Le Figaro says in part: "By attacking Syria directly, [Prime Minister] Sharon is upsetting [Bashir] el-Assad's complex and ambiguous policy."

TEXT: To Germany, where the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung suggests:

VOICE: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is not in an enviable position. … he cannot be seen to yield …. On the other hand, [he] cannot push his luck too far; up to now he has used diplomacy. It is to be feared that in [the] case of renewed confrontation with Israel weak Lebanon will again be the victim.

TEXT: Spain's El Pais in Madrid calls the Israeli response to the "horrible suicide attack [in Haifa] … highly dangerous, and absolutely contrary to international law…

To the Middle East now, where in Israel, Ha'aretz from Tel Aviv, writes.

VOICE: Israel has the right to move against the facilities, activists and leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and other organizations anywhere and at any time, but this does not testify to the wisdom of such moves.

TEXT: The Palestinian paper Al-Quds in East Jerusalem says the Israeli air strike: "is another Israeli attempt to divert the international community's attention from the essence of the problem, namely, Israeli practices in its … occupation of the West Bank and Gaza…

To Egypt, where the well-known Al Ahram from Cairo criticizes the Syrian attack as "a flagrant violation of international law and of the U-N Charter …[that] threatens the entire region with a new wave of violence."

In Saudi Arabia, Riyadh's al-Jazira notes:

VOICE: It is noticeable that the American tone towards this crisis goes on encouraging the Israeli aggression, … [the] raid on northern Damascus will not be the last.

TEXT: To Jordan, where Amman's Arabic-language Al-Rai worries that the attack has "expanded the circle of danger," while in Syria, Tishreen, a government-owned daily, says: "The Israeli aggression is a dangerous signal to the world community, the U-S in particular: therefore they should work seriously to stop Israel's aggressiveness and its flagrant violation of international charters…

To Asia where the national Australian in Sydney defends the Israeli action, noting…

VOICE: …Criticism of Israel ignores the obvious. The terrorists it confronts are not interested in peace… the venue for this attack was a restaurant frequented by Christians, Israeli Arabs, as well as Jews.

TEXT: Moving to Japan, the business-oriented Nihon Keizai suggests that the attack in Syria: "… is only complicating the already dimming outlook for peace in the Middle East." And lastly to South America, where Brazil's huge Folha de Sao Paulo proposes that on the one hand:

VOICE: Israel has the right to protect itself from ignominious acts such as the attack that killed 19 people in Haifa. However, one must recognize that the Israeli response to Syria is politically risky because it may expand the conflict…

TEXT: On that note from one of the largest dailies in Latin America, Brazil's Folha de Sao Paulo, we conclude this sampling of foreign press reaction to the Israeli air raid on Syria.

NEB/ANG/KL