RAMALLAH, March 22, 2017 (WAFA) – Statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and that he is going to continue attacking Syria hit the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies on Wednesday.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported that Netanyahu made these statements during his visit to China in which he said that he is not going to halt settlement construction in East Jerusalem, while he is still working on an understanding with US President Donald Trump’s administration regarding construction in the West Bank.
Netanyahu also said that he told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Israeli airstrikes in Syria will continue.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told Netanyahu that Israel should live in peace with an independent Palestinian state and that peace is an interest for all, as reported in al-Quds and al-Ayyam.
The main front story in al-Hayat al-Jadida focused on statements by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah during a visit to the family of a slain policeman in which he said that the Palestinian security forces are going to continue efforts to arrest all outlaws.
The policeman was shot and killed earlier this week by a gunman during an activity in Balata refugee camp in Nablus.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida and al-Ayyam reported that Israeli occupation forces prevented Palestinian landowners from accessing their land where the evacuated Amona settlement outpost was located but allow settlers free access to the land.
Al-Quds quoted an Israeli paper as saying that police arrested Omar Barghouti, one of the founders of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Al-Ayyam said Israel was intensifying punitive measures against BDS supporters and activists.
Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Israeli occupation forces issued an order to halt construction of seven Palestinian homes in the town of Kufr al-Deek in Salfit area of the West Bank. They also said that Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinian shepherds in the village of Burqa, north of Nablus.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida also reported that Palestinians protested in Ramallah and Gaza the United Nations withdrawal of the ESCWA report that accuses Israel of apartheid, and expressed support for Rima Khalaf, head of ESCWA, who resigned in protest against the withdrawal of the report.
The paper also said Fatah officials have denounced a decision by Hamas to form a committee to administer the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s claims that a Hezbollah commander was killed by his own men were reported in al-Quds and al-Ayyam. Israel claimed that the killing of Mustafa Badr al-Din was an inside job, which Hezbollah has denied, according to al-Quds.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that the US and Britain have decided that passengers coming from Arab countries and Turkey will not be allowed to carry electronic devices such as laptops, tablets and others on flights entering their countries.
K.T./M.K.
