RAMALLAH, July 16, 2015 (WAFA) – Remarks made by Palestinian
Premier Rami Hamdallah about cabinet reshuffle and the internal division
together with Israeli forces’ detention of five Palestinians suspected of
carrying out a shooting near Ramallah hit the front page headlines in the three
Arabic Palestinian dailies.
The papers covered Hamdallah’s remarks about cabinet reshuffle and
Palestinian division during a meeting with World
Bank Country Director for the West Bank and Gaza Strip Steen Lau Jorgensen.
Hamdallah was quoted in al-Quds as stating that
the government was able to reduce the public debt by $500 million. He was further
quoted in al-Hayat al-Jadida as saying that the Palestinian Authority (PA) was
able to reduce the public debt by about $900 million during the last two years.
Hamdallah was also featured in al-Ayyam and
al-Hayat al-Jadida as announcing that the cabinet reshuffle would be ‘imminent’
and that holding general elections is a ‘priority’ for the government.
The Prime Minister who dominated the three
dailies, was also reported in al-Quds and al-Ayyam as accusing Hamas of
creating a ‘shadow government’ in the Gaza Strip.
On the other hand, the three dailies covered the
detention of five Palestinians suspected of carrying out a shooting near
Ramallah.
They reported that Israeli forces detained five
Fatah-affiliated Palestinians from Qalandiya refugee camp, under the pretext of
potential involvement in a shooting near the illegal Israeli settlement of Dolev
near Ramallah the last month. It is to be noted that the incident left one
Israeli dead.
Al-Quds reported on Israel’s Internal Security
Service (Shabak) referring to the detained men as a ‘cell’.
Meanwhile, al-Quds reported in its main front page
story that Israeli forces handed demolition notices for a clinic, school and
houses during a raid into Susiya, a village to the south of the southern West
Bank city of Hebron. The demolitions are expected to be carried out next week.
It also reported as part of its main front page
news item that Israeli light rail guards in Jerusalem assaulted two Palestinian
teens.
Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida opted to cover
both US President Barack Obama and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond
remarks defending the ground-breaking nuclear Iran deal.
Al-Ayyam
reported that Obama has defended the nuclear deal with Iran from critics,
especially Israel, and quoted him as saying that no one, including Israel, “has
presented a better alternative.”
It
also quoted him as stating the deal would not eliminate the ‘profound differences’
between the US and Iran, however making it the best way to avoid war.
Covering
the same issue, Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, who is described as ‘isolated’, refuses to admit defeat. It
quoted Hammond as stating: “Israel wants a permanent state of standoff.”
Furthermore, the three dailies reported on
President Mahmoud Abbas who has been invited by his Egyptian counterpart to
attend the inauguration of the new Suez Canal.
Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that a young
Palestinian woman from the Ramallah village of Beitillu was detained by Israeli
forces for stabbing an Israeli soldier near the illegal settlement of ‘Nahliel’
to the northwest of Ramallah.
Covering Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders’
visit to Gaza, al-Quds reported on the top Dutch diplomat emphasizing that poor
economic conditions would trigger violence.
Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that
Israeli Knesset has voted down a bill that would allow the use of death penalty
to execute Palestinian detainees accused of murdering Israelis.
Finally, citing NSA classified documents; al-Hayat
al-Jadida reported that Israel was behind the assassination of Syrian General
Muhammad Suleiman in 2008.
K.F/M.H
