BEIRUT — Angry demonstrations broke out across the Arab world Saturday and diplomats in the region called for emergency measures in the aftermath of Israel's deadly air attacks against Hamas security strongholds in the Gaza Strip.
But few expect the uproar to do more than reinforce regional trends: Pro-U.S. Arab governments continue to alienate large portions of their populations despite statements of protest against Israel, analysts said, while Iran and Syria score propaganda points for their continuing patronage of Islamic militant groups such as Hamas that fight Israel.
"It will give Iran and Syria a boost," said Sarkis Naoum, a columnist for the pro-Western Lebanese daily An Nahar. "They will use it to say to the Arab people, 'Your regimes, presidents and kings won't help. They turn a blind eye to what is happening.' "
Pan-Arab satellite channels broadcast nearly nonstop images of bloodied Palestinian bodies, ambulances with sirens screaming and women wailing in hospital corridors. In interviews, enraged men and women from Yemen to Morocco condemned the air attacks, which came three days after militants in Gaza launched an estimated 30 rockets and at least 20 mortar shells at targets in southern Israel.
Al Jazeera, the most popular of the channels, quickly designed a logo for its live coverage, calling it "Gaza Under Fire."
Amid the cacophony, some Arabs and other Muslims condemned not just Israel but also U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egypt, whose president, Hosni Mubarak, met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni days before Israel's assault. Mubarak, who led an unsuccessful mediation effort seeking to extend a six-month truce between Israel and Hamas that ended Dec. 19, termed the Israeli action "military aggression" and lodged a formal protest with Israel's ambassador.
"This is going to embarrass the Arab regimes, especially those that have ties with Israel and those who have ties with the U.S. and followed the American strategy and the American policy over the last few years," said Mohammed Masri, an analyst at the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan in Amman. "The Arab street is very angry. They see it as though the Egyptians have given the green light to attack Gaza."
An escalation of the conflict between Hamas and Israel had been expected for days. But the extent of the air attacks, which Palestinian health officials said left more than 200 people dead, caught many off guard.
