RAMALLAH, Saturday, May 9, 2020 (WAFA) – The three Palestinian Arabic dailies highlighted today the meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) held on Thursday night in Ramallah and headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, the intervention of Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh with banks to stop their actions against accounts of prisoners and the coronavirus outbreak.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida and al-Quds highlighted as their main front-page story the PLO meeting, particularly the part in which the PLO said that all agreements with Israel will be cancelled if the latter annexes any part of the occupied Palestinian territory.

Al-Ayyam reported on this topic as well but said in its main front-page story that there were no coronavirus cases reported in Palestine yesterday and that 37 have recovered.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida quoted the health minister saying that half of the coronavirus patients in Palestine have recovered.

The three papers also reported on the problem between the banks operating in Palestine and the families of prisoners held in Israel after the banks have decided to close accounts of prisoners in light of Israeli threats against the banks.

Al-Quds said there was a public uproar against the banks’ action demanding not to capitulate to Israeli dictates.

It said 58 Norwegian organizations have called for lifting the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007.

It said the US ambassador to Israel, David Freidman, has insulted the Palestinian people and defended Israel’s illegal annexation plan.

Al-Ayyam printed a picture of a man praying to God while facing the Dome of Rock at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s old city, which the paper said was empty except for a handful of people for the third Friday of Ramadan when usually hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshippers attend the Friday prayer. The compound has been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It said the United Nations Palestine refugees’ agency, UNRWA, wants over $90 million to help it face the coronavirus pandemic.

It said several people were injured in confrontations with Israeli soldiers in Kufr Qaddoum in the north of the West Bank and Israeli settlers stole crops of Palestinian farmers in the south of West Bank.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida said a new public opinion in the US showed that there is higher level of sympathy with the Palestinian people among the new generation.

M.K.