RAMALLAH, June 14, 2011 (WAFA) - The common headline in all three Arabic dailies Tuesday reported on President Mahmoud Abbas’ meeting with King of Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, in which they discussed UN recognition of a Palestinian state next September. 

Al-Ayyam, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida printed a photo of Abbas and Abdul-Aziz during their meeting in Jeddah where they also discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and how to enhance them.

Al-Ayyam’s front page story reported on Washington’s frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s stance, as well as the visit by US envoy to the Middle East, David Hill, to resume Palestinian-Israeli negotiations following US President Barak Obama’s speech to recognize a Palestinian state within 1967 borders. Al-Hayat al-Jadida featured the same story.

An exclusive main headline in Al-Quds read: ‘Fatah and Hamas resume developing mechanisms to achieve reconciliation’ featuring a meeting between Azzam al-Ahmed, Chief of the Fatah delegation to the reconciliation talks, with Musa Abu Marzouk, Deputy Political Bureau Chief of Hamas in Cairo to form a technocrat government.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida quoted Netanyahu as saying: ‘Recognizing Israel as a Jewish state will change the world; peace cannot be imposed from outside.’  

An op-ed in al-Ayyam had the headline: ‘On Fatah Central Committee’s decisions’ commenting on Fatah’s decisions to nominate Salam Fayyad as prime minister of the upcoming Fatah and Hamas consensual government and expel Muhammad Dahlan from his rank in the movement.

M.H./F.J.