Arabic press review: Bouteflika 'seeks fifth term' as Algerian president

Bouteflika's fifth

A former Algerian official has shocked the country by claiming the ailing president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 80, would run for a fifth term, according to the London-based newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi.

Farouk Ksentini, former head of the human rights protection committee of the Algerian presidency, stated Bouteflika told him that he wanted a fifth five-year term after 2019.

Ksentini added that Bouteflika's health was good and he had the right to run for a fifth term as long as the constitution allows him to do so. 

Bouteflika scrapped constitutional rules in 2008 limiting presidents to two terms in office, and won disputed elections the following year with 90 per cent of the vote.

The presidency denied the story was genuine.

Arab efforts to contain Palestinian-American crisis

The US threat to close the office of the Palestine Liberation Organisation in Washington has been met with huge Arab discontent as the Arab League announced that its secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, discussed the repercussions with the Palestinian foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki, according to the Saudi newspaper, al-Sharq al-Awsat.

Mahmoud Afifi, an Arab League spokesman, said the US move would cause "great damage to the peace process and the role played by the US to maintain peace between Palestinians and Israelis".

Jordanians protest against Israel gas deal

Jordanian citizens took part in a sit-in protest outside the parliament building in Amman, expressing "popular rejection of the gas agreement with Israel", according to the Jordanian newspaper al-Ghad.

Protesters raised banners and slogans condemning the agreement and economic "normalisation" with Israel and its threat to the interests of Jordan.

The protesters called on the representatives to "fulfil their supervisory and legislative role and refuse to sign the agreement with Israel" and the government to return the agreement and not proceed with the completion of the deal.

There have been several protests over the deal in recent months.

Arabic press review is a digest of reports that are not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye.