RAMALLAH, November 15, 2011 (WAFA) – The three Palestinian Arabic newspapers Tuesday highlighted President Mahmoud Abbas’ meeting with the Quartet’s Representative, Tony Blair, on Monday in Ramallah.
Al-Quds reported on its front page that Abbas informed Blair of his refusal to resume negotiations with Israel if it does not halt settlement activities, including in East Jerusalem, and commit to the two-state solution based on 1967 borders.
A subtitle in the daily reported on PLO Executive Committee Member, Saeb Erekat’s statements that the Quartet must clarify its practical measures if Israel does not abide by peace requirements.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida focused on the Israeli air strike on Gaza that left one Palestinian dead and injured another ten, including a French diplomat and his family.
Al-Ayyam newspaper chose to highlight the situation in Syria on its front page, following the death of 28 civilians and 20 Syrian soldiers on Monday. The news piece also reported that Jordanian King Abdullah II called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign for Syria’s best interest.
The Israeli government’s decision to continue withholding tax money, which Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, as a punitive measure against the Palestinian recent membership in UNESCO and application for statehood membership in the United Nations Security Council, was featured on al-Quds’ front page.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported on its front page on Abbas’ intention, in his upcoming speech on Wednesday, to call for forming a technocrat government to prepare for elections, according to Abbas’ political advisor, Nimer Hammad.
The news piece also said that member of Fatah Central Committee, Azzam al-Ahmad, secretly visited Cairo several times to prepare for the anticipated meeting between Abbas and Hamas leader, Khaled Mishaal, next week.
The newspapers reported on scheduled Palestinian celebrations in the Palestinian Territory and Diaspora today, marking the Palestinian Declaration of Independence that the late President Yasser Arafat announced in Algeria on November 15, 1988.
R.Q./F.J.
