A Presidential Welcome? 'Bush, Bush, Go to Hell!'

CAIRO, Egypt, Jan. 16, 2008 — -- The headlines in the Egyptian daily paper Al Dustor set the tone for President Bush's visit to Egypt this week, the last leg in his eight-day trip to the Middle East.

"Mr. Bush: If you want peace, talk about justice. If you want democracy, talk about fair elections. If you want freedom, talk about rule of law. If you only want to support Israel, go back home."

Such open messages to Bush have dominated the Egyptian and Pan-Arab press this week.

Some even went as far as calling Bush a murderer and a war criminal.

"We believe that the proper reception for Bush in the Arab region, as a criminal of war, is to be stoned by spoiled eggs, rotten tomatoes and loud demonstrations to show the real Arab and Muslims' feelings against him and his distractive war and his foreign policy that is against all that is Arabic and Muslim," wrote Abdel Bary Atwan in Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a Pan-Arab newspaper.

Palestinians also loudly protested the president's arrival in Israel, many taking to the streets in the Gaza Strip. They viewed the visit as an endorsement of the Israeli occupation to the Palestinian territories. As Bush was arriving in Jerusalem, Israeli forces killed three people in Gaza in a raid that also injured four.

In Egypt, anti-Bush conferences and sit-ins were organized by opposition parties and professional syndicates.

"Bush, Bush, Go to hell," "the Devil Is Preaching" read some of their banners.

Around 100 parliamentarians from the opposition and independents gathered in front of the Egyptian Parliament to also condemn the visit.

In their statement, they called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak not to allow Bush in the country.

The parliamentarians criticized Bush's three-hour trip to the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh, saying the duration of the visit is an insult and marginalization of Egypt's leading role in the region.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told ABC News the duration of the visit is enough to cover extensive talks between the Egyptian and the Americans.