RAMALLAH, September 22, 2018 (WAFA) – The Friday March of Return protests on the Gaza borders with Israel was highlighted on the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies on Saturday.
The Israeli army crackdown on the protests has caused the death of one Palestinian murdered by the army and the injury of hundreds others, according to the three dailies, which also reported on the protests in the West Bank as well, particularly in Khan al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem, against Israeli plans to demolish the Palestinian village and displace its residents.
The three papers also highlighted the visit of President Mahmoud Abbas to France on his way to New York, where he is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.
Al-Quds quoted Abbas saying that he is ready for either secret or open negotiations with Israel under the auspices of the International Quartet and other countries.
Al-Ayyam said Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks and that Europe is working to compensate the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for the money cut by the United States, which amounts to $365 million annually.
It quoted Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz saying that stopping financing UNRWA aims to liquidate the Palestinian cause and the right of return.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida made the Palestinian-French meeting its main front page story and quoted Abbas saying that he has confidence in the French position.
While in France, the paper said Abbas met with Palestinian civil protest icon, 17-year-old Ahed Tamimi, who is also on a tour of France to talk about her experience in Israeli custody for her protest activities. Tamimi served eight months in Israeli prison.
Abbas also met in Paris with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said al-Hayat al-Jadida, which quoted Olmert telling Palestine TV that everyone understands that there is no alternative to the two-state solution and that Abbas is the only one capable of achieving that goal.
The paper also quoted Fatah movement attacking Hamas and accusing it of being a tool to implement US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “conspiracy” against Abbas and the Palestinian cause.
Al-Quds said Israel’s finance minister has decided to compensate the family of the Israeli settler killed in a recent stabbing near Bethlehem from the Palestinian Authority’s tax revenues.
It said over 55,000 Muslim worshippers attended the Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem as the Mufti has warned against anyone meddling with Al-Aqsa affairs or status in reference to calls by fanatic Jewish groups on their followers, as reported in al-Ayyam daily, to be present in large numbers inside the Muslim holy compound during the upcoming Jewish holiday, which usually provoke trouble between Palestinians and Israeli forces.
Al-Quds said Jordan’s minister of work visited Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday.
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