Dubai: Israelis will be denied UAE entry

I haven't heard that they have solid proof that the assassins were Israeli, so this seems extremely provocative. Even "suspected" citizenship?

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai's police chief says travelers, suspected of being Israeli will not be allowed into the United Arab Emirates even if they arrive with alternative passports.

Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim says the move comes after the killing of a Hamas operative in Dubai, blamed by the Emirates authorities on Israel's Mossad spy agency.

Tamim said a 26-member team used European and Australian passports to enter the country in January and kill Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

The Emirates will now "deny entry to anyone suspected of having Israeli citizenship," Tamim said at a security conference in Abu Dhabi Monday.

Poll: Mideast Arabs think very highly of Obama

It's been awhile since I posted a poll, and this is a good one.

WASHINGTON — As President Barack Obama prepares to journey to Egypt on June 4 to address the Muslim world, his overtures to the Middle East are paying off in positive feelings towards him from Arab peoples that far outpace the region's critical view of the United States itself, according to a new McClatchy/Ipsos Poll.

The poll of six Arab nations found that residents think that Obama will have a positive impact on the Middle East — a region marked by war, religious disputes, ethnic and sectarian violence — as well as on the United States and the rest of the world.

Obama scored highest in Jordan, where 58 percent of its citizens have a favorable opinion of him, 29 percent have an unfavorable view, 6 percent had no opinion and 7 percent didn't know.

Saudi Arabians have a 53 percent favorable opinion of Obama, followed by 52 percent in the United Arab Emirates. From there, Obama's popularity dips below 50 percent with a 47 percent favorability rating in Kuwait, 43 percent in Lebanon and 35 percent in Egypt. In none of these countries, however, was Obama's unfavorable rating higher than his favorable one.

In contrast, only 38 percent of Saudis have a favorable view of the United States, followed by 36 percent of Jordanians, 34 percent of UAE residents, 31 percent of Lebanese and 22 percent of Egyptians.