RAMALLAH, Thursday, June 18, 2020 (WAFA) – The increase of novel coronavirus cases in the occupied Palestinian territories dominated the front page headlines in Thursday’s issue of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.

Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that 39 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours in the West Bank districts of Hebron and Ramallah and al-Bireh.

Al-Ayyam explained that 36 cases were confirmed in the southern West Bank district of Hebron and three others in Ramallah and al-Bireh district.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida added in this regard that the Health Ministry took a series of decisions and submitted recommendations to Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in this regard.

Health Minister Mai al-Kaileh was reported ion al-Quds and al-Ayyam warning that the pandemic was hitting the Palestinian territories once again, causing a dramatic increase in the number of infected cases.

Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry was reported in al-Ayyam announcing that 30 Palestinians contracted the virus and another died due to it in the last 24 hours in the diaspora.

It was also reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida announcing that the first batch of Palestinians stranded in Canada due to the coronavirus pandemic will arrive home tomorrow.

Secretary-General of Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub was reported in al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida announcing that the committee is scheduled to hold a meeting under the chairmanship of President Mahmoud Abbas tomorrow.

Palestine‘s Ambassador to Egypt and permanent representative to the Arab League Diab al-Louh was reported in the dailies stating that Palestine has not received yet any response from the Arab countries on a formal request for $100 million loan.

Highlighting Israeli intrusions on Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Jordan sent a formal protest note to Israel over the latter’s illegal excavations at the Al-Buraq Wall, also known as the Western Wall.

Al-Quds highlighted calls for Palestinians in the occupied territories (West Bank and Gaza) to resume their Great Fajr (Dawn) Prayer Campaign at mosques.

It also reported that Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Ministry calling for halting Israeli settlers and police intrusions into the mosque compound and enabling it to resume non-Muslim tourism inside the mosque.

The dailies said that Israeli occupation authorities bulldozed several Palestinian structures belonging to Al-Quds University in Abu Dis town, southeast of Jerusalem.

They also delivered an order to demolish a Palestinian house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Sawahre al-Gharbiyyeh, as reported in al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida.

The dailies spotlighted the latest spate of settler attacks against the Palestinian people and their property.

Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said in this regard that Israeli settlers set fire to fields belonging to the Palestinina village of Burin, south of Nablus.

They added that settlers razed several dunams of land belonging to the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, for the construction of a settler-only road.

Al-Quds highlighted the construction of the so-called “American Road” to cut East Jerusalem off from the West Bank and republished a map for it.

It reported Fouad Abu Hamed, a Jerusalemite researcher, explaining that the road construction is part of Israel’s strategy to annex large swaths of the West Bank and connect the colonial settlement blocs to one another.

The dailies said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that annexing the West Bank would happen in two stages.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida slammed Netanyahu’s gradual annexation plan is intended to “mislead” the world.

Al-Ayyam elaborated that Netanyahu would start with annexing 10 percent of the West Bank.

The dailies reported Jordan’s King Abdullah II reiterating his country’s rejection of Israel’s impending annexation move.

Abdullah made his remarks during a video-conference meeting with senior US officials, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as reported in the dailies.

The dailies also spotlighted Jordanian Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi’s virtual meeting with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nikolay Mladenov.

Safadi was reported warning that Israel’s implementation of the annexation move means that it chooses conflict instead of peace.

Al-Quds said that Britain refuses to deal with products of Israeli colonial settlements, while al-Ayyam said that Britain affirms differentiation between Israeli products and settlement products.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida highlighted the joint statement made by some 50 United Nations (UN) human rights experts condemning Israel’s annexation move.

They reported them stating the annexation would violate international law and deprive Palestinians from their right to self-determination.

K.F.