RAMALLAH, Wednesday, December 16, 2020 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech during the virtual Climate Ambition Summit 2020 dominated the front page headlines in Wednesday’s issue of the three mainstream Palestinian Arabic dailies.

President Abbas was reported in al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida stating that despite living under the ]Israeli[ occupation and the coronavirus pandemic, the State of Palestine bears its obligations under the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.

He was also reported in al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida saying that Palestine is working on the development of sustainable infrastructure to achieve environmental justice for the Palestinian people.

Moreover, al-Quds and al-Ayyam highlighted an Israeli military plan for the next possible onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip.

They elaborated that the plan, devised by the Israeli military, involves using of heavy firepower, killing of 300 people every day, and targeting purported “weapons depots” and “command headquarters” in Gaza.

Al-Quds added in this regard that the plan is designed to deliberately result in perpetrating terrible massacres against Gazans and massive destruction of infrastructure.

Furthermore, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that the Israeli occupation authorities razed 50 donums of Palestinian land and uprooted dozens of trees to the south of Hebron.

According to al-Quds, Israeli forces rounded up 18 Palestinians in multiple West Bank raids.

It added that among the detainees was the father of Mohammad Kan‘an, who was killed by Israeli military gunfire during the tensions over the installation of metal detectors at the entrances of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in July 2017.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian in Nablus city.

Al-Ayyam added that the villagers of Yasuf, east of Salfit, fended off an Israeli settler attack against them.

Al-Ayyam printed an Arabic translation for Reuters story After 60 years, East Jerusalem Palestinians face eviction under Israeli settler rulings.

Besides, al-Ayyam said that a Palestinian family survived an attack when an Israeli artillery shell slammed their house in the central Gaza Strip. The house is located in Juhr al-Dik village.

Al-Quds reported the family denying media reports that their house was deserted. Both al-Quds and al-Ayyam printed a photo for Palestinian Civil Defense crews inspecting the demolished house.

It said that the Regional Council of the Gush Etzion Israeli colonial settlement bloc has funded the establishment of “unauthorized” colonial settlement outposts across the West Bank.

Al-Quds report was based on Haaretz report titled Israeli Settler Group Funneled Half a Million Dollars to Illegal Settlements.

Highlighting the situation in Jerusalem, al-Quds said that the so-called “Temple Mount” groups staged a nighttime rally in front of the gates leading to flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

It added that the Israeli occupation authorities sealed the road of al-Yusufiya historic Islamic cemetery, which leads to the mosque compound.

The dailies reported presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh affirming that Jerusalem and its holy sites are a “red line” for the Palestinian people and that all Israeli colonial settlement construction is illegitimate.  

Hamas chief Khaled Mashal was reported in al-Quds expressing Hamas’ determination to strike a prisoner exchange deal ]with Israel[ and pointing that any Palestinian leadership that wins upcoming elections would be trusted.

The dailies said that Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory (OCHA) launched the $417 million Humanitarian Response Plan 2021 to help 1.8 vulnerable Palestinians.

The latest statistics about the surge in Covid-19 infections also dominated the front page headlines.

The dailies said that 2,307 Palestinians tested positive for Covid-19 and 23 others died of it in the occupied territories.

Al-Quds added that 1,910 Covid-19 patients recovered in the occupied territories.

They added that in light of the expected surge in the infections number in the winter, hospitals were equipped with more clinical beds and more sections designated as intensive care units for treating Covid-19 patients.

According to al-Quds and al-Ayyam, 328 Palestinians contracted the virus and another died of it in Jerusalem city within the last two days.

They reported he Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry confirming a new Covid-19 fatality among Palestinians in Italy.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida added in this regard that the Covid-19 infections curve in Ramallah governorate continues to bend upward.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that President Abbas congratulated Emir of Kuwait Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on the formation of the 37th cabinet.

Regionally, the dailies said that 40 European parliamentarians signed a letter calling for a ban on the entry of the products of Israeli colonial settlements into the European Union markets.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that Indonesia denied media reports that it was seeking to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel.

Al-Quds added that Pakistan affirmed its support to the Palestinian question, and al-Ayyam said that a member of the Pakistani Senate affirmed his country’s position rejecting normalization of ties with Israel.

The dailies also reported Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi saying that normalization of ties with Israel “is not on the agenda” of his country.

K.F.