Arabic press review: Get ready for Yemen's comeback kid

Back to the future

The London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper has reported that Saudi Arabia has been persuaded that it should change its position towards the former Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and bring him and his family back to power. This takes place at the same time as Mohammed bin Salman's appointment as crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

The newspaper quotes the French subscription-based magazine, Intelligence Online, as saying that Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, is pushing for ousting the Yemeni pro-Saudi leader Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, and is working to persuade Mohammed bin Salman to do so.

Al-Quds al-Arabi claims that Ahmad Asiri, the spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and Mohammed bin Salman's right-hand man, travelled to Abu Dhabi on 27 June to meet Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the son of the ousted Yemeni president.

Saleh, who was deposed in 2011 during Yemen's "Arab Spring," is currently in league with the Iran-backed Houthi movement - which Saudi Arabia is fighting.

Palestinian expo

Under the headline "How the Zionist lobby is fighting Palestinian initiatives in Britain," the Noon Post published a report on attempts to cancel the Palestine Expo 2017 in London last weekend. It was the largest Palestinian event in Europe and was organised by the Friends of al-Aqsa group for the 100th anniversary of the Balfour declaration.

“In recent weeks, this event has been threatened with an embargo in several ways, especially after the intervention of the British government, which sent a letter to the organisers informing them that it was considering stopping the event,” according to the report.

Middle East Eye last week reported on the event being given the go-ahead after a government investigation found there were no concerns over the organisers, who said they had faced a campaign by pro-Israel groups.

Israel's Syrian gambit

The Saudi Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper has claimed Israel is seeking to form a south Syrian army similar to the south Lebanon army, which it founded in the mid-1970s led by Saad Haddad then by General Antoine Lahad.

The newspaper claims that the army's mission was to spread in the southern region of Syria on the borders with the Golan Height and on the border with Jordan in order to block Iran's extension in the region.

The newspaper quoted what it said were "Israeli sources," who reportedly said the goal of this new force would be to prevent Hezbollah and pro-Iranian forces from controlling the Golan Heights after the end of the war against the Islamic State.

Death becomes them

The Egyptian al-Mesryoon newspaper has reported that pro-Sisi government commentators claim the Muslim Brotherhood was responsible for the deaths of 23 soldiers in attacks in Sinai on Friday.

The newspaper said their response includes calls for the execution of the former president and Brotherhood leader, Mohamed Morsi.

One of the most famous television journalists in Egypt, Ahmed Moussa, called for the execution of all Brotherhood members being held in Egyptian prisons.

Middle East Eye reported that no group had claimed the Sinai attacks last week. Militants linked to the Islamic State group have regularly attacked Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai area.