RAMALALH, May 2, 2011 (WAFA) – Israel’s decision to withhold Palestinian Authority funds it collects on behalf of the Palestinian people was the main topic of Monday’s Arabic language dailies.
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and Al-Quds featured this story on their top front pages, while it was the second important story for Al-Ayyam, which gave the reconciliation efforts prominence over the Israeli decision.
“Israel freezes PA tax transfers,” said Al-Hayat Al-Jadida headline. Al-Quds, on the other hand, choose to take a quote from Prime Minister Salam Fayyad reacting to this development.
“Fayyad to the Palestinian people: Don’t be afraid as you defend unity, freedom and moral values,” was Al-Quds front page headline printed across the page with a picture of Fayyad speaking at the Bethlehem beatification ceremony of Pope John Paul II in Bethlehem on Sunday. Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and Al-Ayyam also featured Fayyad’s speech on its front page.
The main front page topic for Al-Ayyam featured Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmad speaking from Cairo about the national reconciliation. He said representatives of the various factions are beginning to arrive in Cairo for the national talks that are supposed to start on Wednesday with the signing of the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas.
The paper said, quoting Al-Ahmad, that President Mahmoud Abbas is expected in Cairo Tuesday night to take part in the ceremonies, coming from the Qatari capital, Doha, where he arrived Monday for official talks. Al-Ahmad also told Al-Ayyam that consultations regarding the government formation start immediately after the Wednesday signing ceremony.
He said that the ceremonies will be held Wednesday morning, where Abbas is going to speak at this event, along with Egyptian officials and the Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa. He did not say whether Hamas leader Khaled Mashal is going to speak or not.
While news of the killing of Osama Bin Laden had not yet hit the newspapers, other events in the Arab world, particularly the events in Syria and Libya, occupied a good portion of the front pages of the Palestinian dailies.
The opinions in Al-Ayyam were focused on the reconciliation agreement to be signed on Wednesday. The opinions hailed that moment and discussed the steps that led to the agreement.
Fatah leader and former cabinet minister Nabil Amr also wrote an opinion piece in his weekly column in Al-Quds newspaper on the reconciliation. He said, in the opinion piece that started on the front page and jumped inside, that “a price is definitely going to be paid for this important agreement. But what is more important is that regardless of the cost, it will have less of an impact on our present and future from the division.”
AL-Quds editorial also criticized the Israeli decision to withhold the money from the PA, describing this decision as “blatant interference” in internal Palestinian affairs, and “shows ill Israeli intentions toward the Palestinian people and its leadership.”
It said Israel used to use the division as a pretext not to make peace with the Palestinians, and now after the Palestinians are going to reunite their ranks, it says the unity is dangerous for peace. “This position, which no one can understand, shows that Israel does not really want peace and does not want to emancipate the Palestinian people,” said Al-Quds editorial.
M.A.
