RAMALLAH, Thursday, January 23, 2020 (WAFA) – The late-night visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Ramallah and his meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas were highlighted on the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies today.

The papers printed pictures of the two leaders with al-Quds and al-Ayyam dailies highlighting statements by President Abbas in which he said he is looking for a French and European role in salvaging the peace process and stopping Israeli intransigence.

The third daily, al-Hayat al-Jadida, quoted the president reaffirming his rejection of a solution to the Palestinian issue not based on international resolutions, as came in his meeting with the Australian Governor-General in Ramallah yesterday.

The three papers also highlighted French President Macron’s visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque and to St. Anne’s Church in the Old City of Jerusalem, particularly his rebuke of Israeli security attempting to enter the French-owned church with him and ordering them to stay out.

The papers also reported on Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh‘s meetings in Davos as part of the World Economic Forum and calling on Switzerland and Belgium to recognize Palestine.

Al-Quds said the Israeli government admitted to rejecting 98.6 percent of Palestinian applications for building permits in Area C of the occupied West Bank, which is under full Israeli military rule and makes up over 60 percent of the area of the West Bank.

It reported on UN official, Nickolay Mladenov, and others warning against Israeli plans to annex the occupied Jordan Valley and said a US official has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to annex the Jordan Valley and to wait for the American so-called deal of the century.

Al-Ayyam said Israel opened the dams again and flooded Gaza land with water.

It said the Israel Electricity Company has ended its power cuts to some cities in the West Bank after the Palestinian-owned Jerusalem District Electricity Company has paid all its dues to the Israeli company.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida quoted the Palestinian Foreign Ministry saying that there is no change in the position of the International Criminal Court regarding the situation in Palestine.

It said the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has condemned Hamas preventing Palestine TV from working in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip.

M.K.