RAMALLAH, July 2, 2011 (WAFA) – The three Arabic dailies focused Saturday on a decision by Greece to ban Freedom Flotilla II from setting sail to the Gaza Strip and a secret US document to resume direct negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis based on President Barack Obama’s speech.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida’s front page story featured Greece’s official decision on Friday to ban Freedom Flotilla II from leaving Greek ports towards the Gaza Strip to break the Israeli blockade. The Greek coastguard intercepted a US boat in the Greek territorial waters after it set sail to Gaza.
The paper printed a picture of clashes between Greek police and Canadian activists in Athens port on Friday.
Al-Quds prime headline read: “US secret document includes a plan to resume negotiations.” The report, based on an article that appeared the day before in the Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv, quoted Israeli and foreign diplomatic sources as saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has conditionally accepted a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.
Al-Ayyam, and in an exclusive front page story, quoted Western diplomatic sources as saying that Obama rejected an Israeli proposal to send a “letter of reassurance” to the Israeli government stressing Israel as state of the Jewish people and to explicitly accept Israel’s annexation of settlements in the West Bank.
The three papers reported that Palestinian prisoners will start on Sunday a one-day hunger strike in all Israeli jails in protest against Israeli violations, arbitrary raids and strip search policy. Issa Qaraqe’, minister of prisoners, said that prisoners in Asqalan started on Friday a 3-day hunger strike against Israeli measures as well.
The clashes between participants in the weekly popular protests against the separation barrier and Israeli army in several West Bank villages were also the focus of the three dailies. The papers printed pictures of the clashes in Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah and Qalqilia areas.
News from Syria, Libya and Jordan made the front pages as well.
Salman Abu-Sitteh’s op-ed article in al-Quds newspaper opposed the Palestinian bid to seek United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state within 1967 borders. Abu Sitteh said that if this state was established on 20% of the area of historical Palestine, the demilitarized state will have no sovereignty over its borders, land, water and airspace.
The op-ed, under the title “PLO to ‘liberate’ not to legitimize division,” also opposed the “land-swap” principle as it will serve the Israeli plan to expel Palestinians from Israel and to drive out Palestinians in the West Bank.
R.Q./M.A.
