RAMALLAH, Saturday, December 28, 2019 (WAFA) – New Israeli plan to officially steal occupied Palestinian land and the strong reaction to this has occupied the front-page headlines in the three Palestinian Arabic dailies published today.
Al-Quds said in its main front-page story headline that Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennet plans to allow settlers to register Palestinian land in Area C of the occupied West Bank they have seized illegally in the Israeli Ministry of Justice records.
It, along with Hayat al-Jadida, said the Palestinian National Council, the parliament-in-exile, and the Foreign Ministry have condemned this plan, which they considered a step toward annexing the occupied territory known as Area C that makes over 60 percent of the area of the West Bank.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that if Bennet goes on with this plan, then he has guaranteed himself to be classified as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court, which last week decided to open an investigation into Israeli war crimes against the Palestinians in the occupied territories, particularly its land-grab and settlement activities.
The third daily, al-Ayyam, reported on this matter as well but lower on the front page while it opted to highlight as its main front-page story the weekly protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against the Israeli occupation. It said several Palestinians were injured in the Israeli army crackdown on these protests.
The other two dailies also reported on the protests, the army crackdown and the injuries, with al-Quds saying in its story that yesterday was the last of the weekly March of Return protests on the Gaza border with Israel, which will shift to monthly with the start of the new year, as stated by the national committee organizing these protests.
Al-Quds said that Israeli security believes this decision reflects the intention by Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, to observe the calm understanding with Israel.
It also said that Hamas marked yesterday the 11th anniversary for the first Israeli war on Gaza that left 1330 Palestinians dead and heavy destruction.
Al-Ayyam said Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Palestine on January 23 where he will meet President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem.
It said Fatah has decided to hold its 55th launch anniversary in Gaza on Wednesday.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said Fatah Central Committee member Jibril Rjoub denied saying anything against other members of the Central Committee or heads of security agencies.
The three papers also reported on the victory of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his Likud Party and said that this strengthens his position among the right-wing in Israel.
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