RAMALLAH, May 17, 2011 (WAFA) - The three Palestinian dailies focused on the Italian President’s meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas, the salaries for public sector employees and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech.

Al-Ayyam newspaper began with Abbas saying: “We await Obama’s approval for the 1967 borders and ceasing settlement construction.” Al-Hayat Al-Jadida quoted him as saying that it is futile to talk of peace with settlement construction going on.

Al-Ayyam referred to the unrest in Israel’s newspapers, with a headline that read: “The Arab Spring brought the refugee issue back on the table and worries that Sunday’s clashes will reoccur in September,” when the Palestinian state is announced.

The three dailies focused on Netanyahu’s speech last night, in which he said: “We are keeping Jerusalem and settlement blocs, we reject the right to return, and we will stay in the Jordan Valley for a long period of time.”

The events in Syria also featured on the front pages of the dailies, with the news of the unveiling of a mass grave in Daraa, and shelling of other villages.

The papers also discussed the formation of the government, with representatives of the PLO stating that talks on the preparation of the new government have gone well so far.

M.N./F.J.