Front page of al-Hayat

Shalit deal: Arab cartoons declare victory

Arab press downplays issue of prisoner exchange leaving top stories to Syria crackdown and Iranian plot, but cartoons send clear message: Shalit deal is a Palestinian victory

Reuters | Published: 10.17.11, 14:41

While the Israeli and the Palestinian media are busy with around-the-clock reporting of the Shalit deal it appears the Arab press is less preoccupied with the matter. Arab daily newspapers have addressed the prisoner exchange in recent days, but it by no means made any headlines.

The three major Arab daily newspapers, al-Sharq al-Awsat, al-Hayat and al-Quds al-Arabi, all London-based, failed to mention the deal, which will see more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners go free, in their front pages.

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Instead, they provided extensive coverage on the crackdown in Syria, the popular uprisings in Yemen and the Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington.

Nevertheless, Arab and Palestinian papers did leave room for the issue in various editorials and columns as well as cartoons. Those primarily left the impression that the exchange constitutes a great victory for the Palestinians.

For extensive coverage of the Shalit deal, click here

Below are several cartoons published in Arab and Palestinian newspapers:

Palestinian prisoners march upright, 'tiny' Shalit escapes prison

On the right: 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, on the left: Israel gets only Gilad Shalit

Gilad Shalit as the key - or the lock - of the prisoners' jail

Shalit in Palestinian hands: 'Freedom for freedom'

Caption: Hamas releases more than 1,000 prisoners in Shalit deal

Netanyahu pressed into signing deal