RAMALLAH, September 11, 2013 (WAFA) – Al-Hayat al-Jadida daily highlighted on its Wednesday front page what it described as “an American-Israeli plan to swallow the West Bank and establish the State of Gaza in the Sinai,” as came in the top front page headline.
The paper focused in this story on a report that appeared on the website of the Egyptian al-Watan newspaper and which went into details about an Israeli plan that was endorsed by the United States, which tried to sell it to Arab countries, including the Muslim Brotherhood, who agreed to it in return for facilitating their rise to power in Egypt and other Arab countries.
While al-Hayat al-Jadida gave prominence to this story on its front page, it did not neglect the fact that developments on the Syrian political front remain the top story in the world.
The paper, and the other two dailies al-Quds and al-Ayyam, continued to focus on the Syrian front and efforts to prevent a US military strike by allowing international inspection of Syrian chemical weapons.
They said that diplomatic efforts are intensifying as Syria is showing full cooperation with a Russian proposal to destroy all chemical weapons as part of a general deal to defuse the conflict in Syria.
On the home front, the papers highlighted the provocative Jewish tours of the Muslim al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem.
They also reported on the Israeli Supreme Court discussion of a petition against the Israeli absentee property law. They said that the court postponed a decision on this matter in fear that if a decision is made to prevent implementation of this law on property of West Bankers located in East Jerusalem, then it may expose many other corrupt laws imposed on Arab East Jerusalem since its occupation in 1967.
Al-Ayyam quoted in a story Fatah official to the reconciliation talks with Hamas, Azzam Ahmad, saying that there has been no proposals or contacts with Hamas regarding reconciliation since the middle of August, the date the two sides have agreed in May but never implemented to conclude a reconciliation deal with the creation of a unity government headed by President Mahmoud Abbas and setting a date for presidential and legislative elections.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida and al-Ayyam highlighted a story which said that Israeli soldiers prevented activists from reopening the main entrance to the West Bank village of Qaryout.
Al-Quds reported on Palestinian efforts with the international community to stop Israeli attempts to change the status quo in al-Aqsa Mosque, demanding protection for the Muslim holy place against Israeli measures that could provoke widespread violence.
The paper also said in another story that Palestinians were suing American companies that deal with illegal Israeli settlements and settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories.
M.S.
