RAMALLAH, December 13, 2016 (WAFA) – Talk by Donald Trump advisors regarding moving the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in clear violation of international law is the focus of the Palestinian Arabic dailies on Tuesday.
Al-Quds said in its main front page headline that staff of US President-elect Donald Trump is searching for a location in Jerusalem for the US embassy. The kicker said European capitals are trying to talk Trump against this move because of its “serious repercussions on interests of the West.”
The paper said it learned from whom it described as “reliable sources” that a Trump delegation is currently in Jerusalem to decide on a location for the embassy.
Al-Ayyam, which quoted a Trump advisor saying moving the embassy is a top priority for the president-elect, included quotes for the Palestinian Jerusalem Minister Adnan Husseini saying this step is bound to undermine chances of peace.
Al-Quds said in a different report that outgoing US Secretary of State John Kerry met in Washington with Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and Majed Farraj, head of the Palestinian intelligence. It said the meeting discussed Palestinian efforts to submit an anti-settlements resolution to the United Nations Security Council.
The paper said the Israeli government has promised Amona settlers to move them to a nearby location on land that will be considered “absentee property.” It said hundreds of soldiers have joined efforts to prevent the relocation of Amona.
It said settlements make up 25 percent of Israeli urban centers that receive tax breaks from the government.
It said on a different subject that the Israeli army decided to shut down a gate known as al-Dahiya gate in the concrete wall separating East Jerusalem from its northern neighborhoods such as al-Ram and Kufr Aqab because stones were thrown at soldiers manning the gate.
The army opens the gate for three hours every weekday afternoon to ease north bound traffic off the main Qalandia checkpoint.
Al-Ayyam said the Hamas security in Gaza rounded up 350 people considered hardline Salafi Islamists. It said this campaign aimed at preventing their growth in Gaza and because of their impact on its neighbor, Egypt. Hamas has been trying to improve its relations with Egypt after the Egyptian government crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.
The paper also said the first of the F35 fighter jets have arrived in Israel with al-Quds daily printing a photo of the jet.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida opted to highlight on its front page a meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Russian peace envoy.
It reported on Israeli army activities in the West Bank and said Israeli soldiers turned a home in Hebron into a military outpost.
The paper reported on the situation of the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, Anas Shadid and Ahmad Abu Farrah, and said they have decided to stop taking water following an Israeli High Court rejection of their appeal for release from administrative detention.
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