RAMALLAH, Friday, October 18, 2019 (WAFA) – The announcement of the establishment of a joint Saudi-Palestinian business council, which is expected to offer possible relief for the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, dominated the front page headlines in the dailies.
The dailies reported that President Mahmoud Abbas and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed to establish a joint economic committee and a Saudi-Palestinian business council.
The dailies added that Abbas concluded his visit to Saudi Arabia by holding a meeting with bin Salman.
Israeli military raids and settlers’ attacks against Palestinians across the West Bank also hit the front page headlines in the dailies.
Al-Quds said that a number of Palestinians were injured by Israeli military gunfire across the West Bank.
Al-Ayyam added Israeli forces cracked down on an anti-settlement protest in Turmus Ayya town, north of Ramallah city, triggering violent confrontations.
Al-Quds said that Israeli settlers stormed the Solomon‘s Pools archaeological site and Wadi Fukin village, located to the south and west of Bethlehem city respectively, under the protection of heavily armed Israeli forces.
Spotlighting the situation in Jerusalem, al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that 1,172 Israeli settlers barged their way to flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and went on a provocative tour in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Al-Quds elaborated that the settlers’ tour in the Old City of Jerusalem triggered confrontations with Palestinians.
According to al-Quds, Israeli naval boats opened gunfire on Palestinian fishing boats offshore al-Sudaniya, northwest of Gaza city, and Israeli forces along Gaza’s frontier opened fire on farmers and shepherds.
The dailies reported that the UNESCO Executive Board endorsed a draft resolution stating that all Israeli occupation measures aimed at changing the character of Jerusalem are null and void.
Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida AFP’s story Five years after war, Gaza’s little ‘Iron Man’ stands tall.
All-Hayat al-Jadida reported Premier Mohammad Shtayyeh stating that the Jenin Industrial Zone would directly and indirectly provide 20,000 jobs.
Al-Quds spotlighted an article written by Israeli academic Menachem Klein arguing that President Abbas has foiled the US-touted Mideast plan, dubbed deal of the century, and that Israel is heading towards an apartheid regime.
Regionally, the dailies highlighted that US and Turkey reached a deal to suspend Ankara‘s operation in northern Syria within the next five days to allow Kurdish forces to withdraw from a designated ‘safe zone’ along the border.
Al-Ayyam said that the Egyptian authorities released scores of Palestinian detainees affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement.
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