RAMALLAH, February 4, 2017 (WAFA) – White House statement on Israeli settlements and the weekly anti-settlements protests in the occupied territories were the focus of the Saturday issue of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.
Al-Ayyam said in its main front page story that Israel had welcomed the US statement on the settlements considering it as a green light to continue building inside existing settlements.
Minor front page headlines in al-Ayyam said Germany warned against a new wave of violence because of the settlement activities.
Peace Now movement said the White House stance on the settlements is a dangerous and unprecedented retreat.
Another headline on the same subject included a political analysis that said that US President Donald Trump is following in George W. Bush’s steps when it comes to settlements.
Al-Quds reported that the White House spokesman said that Trump is committed to achieving peace between Palestinians and Israelis. A sub-headline said that Israeli officials will discuss settlements construction with Trump.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Israeli officials said that the White House statement on the settlements condones construction in already existing settlements.
Palestine Liberation Organization’s secretary general, Saeb Erekat, was reported as saying that settlements destroy peace and undermine the option of the two-state solution.
Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces during the weekly anti-settlements protests in the occupied West Bank left many injuries, said the papers.
Al-Ayyam said dozens of Palestinians were injured when Israeli forces cracked down on the peaceful anti-settlement and anti-apartheid wall marches. It said that many Palestinians and supporters suffered from tear gas inhalation in the marches in the villages of Bilin, Nilin, Kufr Qaddum and in the city of Bethlehem.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that a young man and a teenager were injured by bullets during clashes east of Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza strip.
It also reported that a family was assaulted by Israeli police in the old city of Jerusalem.
Reporting the same news, al-Quds also said that dozens were injured by live and rubber bullets after Israeli forces cracked down on the weekly peaceful marches. It also said that a Jerusalem family was assaulted.
On a different subject, the three dailies reported on President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Bangladesh.
Al-Ayyam and al-Quds said Abbas concluded his visit to Bangladesh, and al-Hayat al-Jadida said Abbas thanked his Bangladeshi counterpart and prime minister for the warm welcome.
Former Palestinian lawmaker, Burhan Jarrar, who passed away on Friday of a heart attack, was buried in Jenin, according to al-Hayat al-Jadida.
Al-Quds reported that punitive measures against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons have been cancelled thanks to an agreement between Hamas and the Israel Prisons Service, calling it “a big victory for all prisoners.”
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that the European Union’s Council on Foreign Affairs is set to discuss on Monday developments on the Palestinian issue.
On a more local subject, al-Hayat al-Jadida said Hebron forces and leaders were exerting effort to prevent a protest event set for Saturday called for by the al-Tahrir Party, a fundamentalist Islamic group, against a Russian church property in Hebron. It said the forces held al-Tahrir Party responsible for any developments as a result of what it described as its “incitement.”
Al-Quds said Israeli police issued traffic tickets to Palestinian drivers on a West Bank road between Ramallah and Nablus for no apparent reason other than to “steal their money,” according to the paper. It quoted one driver saying that an Israeli policeman told him that “as long as I am here, no Palestinian car will be allowed through without a ticket.”
K.T/M.K.
