RAMALLAH, Wednesday, August 26, 2020 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas’ remarks in the meeting with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab dominated the front page headlines in Wednesday’s issue of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.  

President Abbas was reported in al-Quds and al-Ayyam stressing that there would be no peace nor stability in the region without ending the Israeli occupation ]of the Palestinian territories[.

He was also reported in al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida stating that no peace would be achieved in the region by bypassing the Palestinians towards normalization of relationships between the Arab states and Israel.

He was also reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida stating: “We say that it is time for Britain to recognize the State of Palestine, which will help achieve justice.”

Meanwhile, Premier Mohammad Shtayyeh, who also met Raab, was reported in al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reiterating the Palestinian leadership’s willingness to “start a political track on clear foundations in line with the international legitimacy and international law.”

Raab was reported in al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida noting that his country will remain committed to a negotiated two-state solution and expressing its rejection to Israel’s annexation move.

He was also reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida announcing that his country would provide €2.7 million to support Palestinians curb the coronavirus pandemic spread.

Statistics about the pandemic outbreak in the occupied Palestinian territories also hit the front page headlines in the dailies.

The dailies said that 585 Palestinians tested positive for the highly contagious virus in the occupied territories in the last 24 hours.

Among the 585 confirmed cases, al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that 125 cases were recorded in East Jerusalem.

The dailies highlighted the general lockdown imposed on Gaza following the detention of the first case outside quarantine facilities.

Al-Quds said that the curfew paralyzes movement in the besieged coastal enclave, while al-Hayat al-Jadida said that all aspects of life were brought to a standstill in the enclave.

Al-Ayyam said that two confirmed coronavirus cases were recorded in the early morning hours of Wednesday in Gaza’s al-Shifaa Hospital.

The Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry was reported in al-Quds and al-Ayyam announcing that 209 Palestinians contracted the virus and three other COVID-19 patients succumbed to their injuries in the diaspora.

According to al-Quds, over 5,000 Palestinian citizens of Israel are among the active COVID-19 cases in Israel.

Regarding home demolitions, al-Ayyam said that Israeli occupation authorities carried out a large-scale demolition and land leveling campaign across several Palestinian districts.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam elaborated that the occupation authorities demolished eight makeshift structures ]in the Bedouin community of Wadi al-Seeq[, situated to the east of Ramallah district.

Al-Quds added in this regard that the occupation authorities tore down three Palestinian houses in Jerusalem.

It also reported that Israeli forces delivered military orders to demolish several Palestinian houses and structures in Jericho and Bethlehem districts.

It said that Israeli forces rounded up 15 Palestinians in multiple raids across the West Bank.

Providing more details on the situation in Gaza, al-Quds said that Chairman of the Qatari Committee for Gaza Reconstruction Mohammad al-Emadi is set to meet Hamas leaders in Gaza today.

The dailies said that the four Palestinians who lost their lives in a blast in the eastern Gaza city neighborhood of Ash-Shaja‘ya were laid to their rest.

Moving to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, al-Quds said that 237 settlers forced their way into the site amid a spike of settlers and police provocations and violations against Palestinians.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that the occupation authorities have notified Jerusalem Governor Adnan Gahith a notirce informing him about their intention to restrict his movement to Jerusalem city.

Al-Quds said that Palestinians held an expanded meeting to discuss ways to confront Israel’s colonial settlement construction plan in al-Kafriyyat area, south of Tulkarem city.

Regionally, the dailies spotlighted the trilateral summit the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and Iraq in Amman.

Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Amman trilateral summit stressed the centrality of the Palestinian question.

Al-Ayyam reported the leaders reiterating that the ‘Palestinian-Israeli conflict must be resolved in line with international law, the relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.”

Al-Quds posted a translation for the Washington Post’s analysis Pompeo’s Christian Zionism takes center stage.

It said that prominent members have resigned from the UAE-based Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies (FPPMS) following its support of the UAE-Israeli normalization agreement.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that the US has failed to force Sudan to normalize its relations with Israel.

K.F.