RAMALLAH, April 7, 2012 (WAFA) – The main front page headline in al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper Saturday quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel will not go back to the 1967 borders and that the only solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is to recognize Israel as Jewish state.
The daily featured Netanyahu’s interview with an Israeli newspaper, during which he stressed that Israel will maintain its control over the settlements in the Palestinian Territory, and that the solution to the refugees issue lies outside the borders of the Israeli state.
An upcoming Israeli plan to build a new campus for the Israeli military academy on Mount Scopus in occupied East Jerusalem was the highlight of al-Quds daily’s front page. It said the project comes within the efforts to Judaize the city and prop up its illegal annexation to Israel.
While the top front page headline for Al-Ayyam focused on the situation in Syria, the Palestinian daily, along with al-Quds, reported as well on a World Bank decision to allocate $55 million to its Trust Fund for Gaza and the West Bank aimed to support Palestinian development.
The three dailies reported on the Israeli assaults against the weekly non-violent protests across the West Bank against settlements and the Apartheid Wall, which left dozens of people injured and suffering from tear gas inhalation, among them journalists covering the events.
The papers reported as well on Christians followers of the Latin Church celebrating Good Friday of the Easter holy week in Jerusalem while Israel imposes a full closure on the occupied territories banning holders of Israeli army-issued permits from entering East Jerusalem or Israel.
Al-Quds reported that Egyptian Copts will be flown directly from Egypt to Israel to participate in Easter celebration, which is the first time since the recent death of the Coptic spiritual leader, Pope Shenouda III, who banned such trips because of his opposition to the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem. However, reports said the Coptic Church reiterated its ban on such travels.
Al-Quds also reported on Israel allowing Egypt to deploy seven brigades in Sinai following a rise in weapon smuggling and attacks against Israel by militants coming from the Sinai Peninsula.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida quoted former Israeli cabinet minister Yossi Beilin telling Voice of Palestine that he thinks the Palestinian Authority should dismantle itself calling on President Mahmoud Abbas to declare an end to the Oslo process, which Beilin was one of its founders.
The papers also quoted Abbas’ political advisor, Nimr Hammad, as saying that consultations with the factions will start soon to name new members for the Salam Fayyad government following resignation of a number of ministers.
R.Q./M.S.
