What the Arab papers said on Jan. 6:

BEIRUT -- Many analogies are being made between the ongoing Israeli attack against Hamas in Gaza and the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Here are the most important ones, in my view.

CAIRO -- Whatever hope may have been growing over the relatively quiet weekend in the minds of state officials that street demonstrations in Cairo linking the Hosni Mubarak government with the Israeli offensive into Gaza would weaken were dispelled early and often Monday. Three separate protests, each organized by three distinct entities, revealed that Gaza is strong on Egyptian minds.

JERUSALEM -- The total Palestinian death toll in Gaza, since Israel's military assault began Saturday a week ago, stands at more than 500, with over 2,500 injured. One Israeli soldier was killed and nearly 40 Israeli soldiers have been injured. Four Israeli civilians have been killed.

What the Arab papers said on Jan. 5:

CAIRO -- Fouad Mohamed Youssif, age 60, slams his fist to the table in anger, yelling loudly that the Hosni Mubarak government is "a dirty government." Youssif has much reason to hate it after police officers barged into his flat in Sayeda Zeinab last summer – an area of Cairo near downtown – and beat him up as they were looking for his son.

Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, told the French daily Le Monde six months ago, regarding the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza: "It is unclear how long it might hold, two days or two months. Historically, we are in a curve of a collision with Hamas."

AMMAN -- The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip greeted the New Year under intensified Israeli air strikes, which continued for a seventh day Friday, as the Jewish state prepared for a ground invasion of the impoverished territory. Meanwhile, while regional and international diplomats have been powerless to halt the relentless offensive.

What the Arab papers said on Jan. 2:

War is so passé. It is so 1960-ish. While most of the world has learned to take their divergences in front of a panel of wise men and women for arbitration, the Middle East continues to turn to violence as a means of settling old disputes.