Arabic press review: Saleh and the Saudis, a match made in Yemen

Ali Abdullah Saleh 'ready for talks' with Saudi Arabia

Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has confirmed his party's readiness to hold talks with the Saudi-led coaltion to stop the war in his country, according to the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper.

During a meeting with members of his party, the General People's Congress, Saleh declared: "We are ready to talk with the countries of aggression, represented by Saudi Arabia.

"We are ready for a serious talk and to get along with Saudi Arabia, in the same way we did in 1970 after eight years of aggression against the Yemeni revolution."

Saleh stressed the need to cancel UN resolution 2216, which established an arms embargo on his forces, in order to start negotiations.  

He added: “We take what we have to take for the benefit of Yemen and the interests of the neighbouring countries, which are attacking Yemen unlawfully and without any justification."

The Houthis, Saleh's supposed allies in the war in Yemen, have branded him a "traitor" in recent days.

Calls for peaceful protest in Saudi Arabia

Saudi activists have launched a campaign on Twitter calling for peaceful protests in Saudi Arabia in mid-September after Saudi royal adviser, Saud al-Qahtani, stated such protests could not be suppressed and urged Qataris to march in their own country.

The Saudi campaign is to start on 15 September. Activists declared that "the suffering of people in Saudi Arabia is much worse than that of people in Qatar, as the numbers of political prisoners exceeds thousands," according to Arabi21.

Jordanian solidarity with Assad

An unofficial Jordanian delegation has arrived in Syria via Lebanon to participate in the 59th session of the Damascus International Fair, and to express its solidarity with the Syrian government, according to Jordanian newspaper al-Sabeel.

The Jordanian delegation is led by former parliamentary deputy Nariman al-Rusan and lawyer Samih Khrais and includes members of the Arab Lawyers Union, university professors, former MPs, media professionals and politicians. 

Khrais stated: "The aim is ... to express support for the Syrian people and celebrate victory over terrorism."

Egypt stops Algerian aid getting to Gaza

The Egyptian authorities prevented an Algerian aid convoy from crossing into Gaza Strip after it has been held for days at Rafah crossing, according to Algerian newspaper al-Chorouk.

The convoy's officials said that the justifications provided by Egypt for preventing the passage of the aid were "irrational".

The head of the relief committee, Cheikh Yahiya Sari, said that they had no choice but to return to Algeria with their aid, fearing it would spoil.

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