RAMALLAH, Tuesday, February 2, 2021 (WAFA) – The Palestinian cabinet meeting yesterday in Ramallah, the President’s decree extending the corona-related state of emergency in the West Bank, and the latest with the coronavirus in Palestine were highlighted on the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies published today.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida daily said the cabinet approved a financial plan related to employees in the Gaza Strip. It also delayed local elections by six months and approved a plan for mass inoculation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the arrival of the corona vaccines.
However, the newspaper also highlighted President Mahmoud Abbas receiving former United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov for ending his duties in Palestine and bestowed on him a medal.
Al-Quds daily said in its main front-page story that President Abbas extended the state of emergency enforced since March of last year to fight the coronavirus for 30 more days.
The third daily, al-Ayyam, said 11 fatalities were related to coronavirus yesterday in Palestine and 586 new cases were recorded as the government decided to extend the partial lockdown for two more weeks.
It said 17 Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli Naqab jail have contracted the coronavirus disease.
Israeli measures against Palestinians in the occupied territories were also highlighted on the front page of the three dailies.
Al-Ayyam said Israel demolished Khirbet Humsa al-Fouqa in the Jordan Valley and displaced its residents for the second time in few months.
Al-Quds added that demolitions were also reported in Tulkarm and Qalqilya, and injured three Palestinians in Jenin, all in the north of the West Bank.
It said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to right-wing groups to speed up building a settlement on the land of the former Jerusalem Airport, north of the occupied city, in return for their support of his party in the upcoming elections.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said Israeli settlers damaged cars of Palestinians and windows of homes in the town of Kufl Haris in the north of the West Bank.
Reporting on the Palestinian elections, al-Hayat al-Jadida quoted Fatah official Jibril Rjoub saying that the national dialogue will kick off in Cairo on February 8.
Al-Ayyam quoted Rjoub saying that the meeting will have an open agenda with a goal to end the division.
The papers also reported on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kosovo and Israel and the former opening an embassy in Jerusalem in return for Israel recognizing Kosovo.
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