RAMALLAH, January 22, 2018 (WAFA) – Israeli forces and Jewish settlers’ raids across the West Bank and President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to the European Union hit the front page headlines in Palestinian dailies on Monday.
The dailies reported that hundreds of Israeli Jewish settlers stormed archaeological and religious sites in the village of Awarta, south of Nablus.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam added that Israeli Jewish settlers also forced their way into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The dailies also reported that Israeli forces conducted multiple overnight raids across the West Bank.
According to al-Quds, Israeli forces detained two Palestinians who crossed Israeli’s border fence with the besieged Gaza Strip.
According to al-Ayyam, Israeli forces briefly detained international activists, denying them entry into the West Bank.
Quoting Israeli sources commenting on Abbas’ visit to the EU, al-Quds reported that France seeks to forge a European-Palestinian agreement that would upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh was reported in al-Ayyam stating that Abbas’ meeting with the foreign ministers of the bloc’s 28 member states, scheduled today, would send the message that the two-state solution is the base for any peace settlement with Israel.
According to al-Hayat al-Jadida, Abbas is scheduled to meet his Ivorian counterpart Alassane Ouattara in Addis Ababa in late January.
Spotlighting the consequences of the US decision to withhold half of the initial aid due for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), al-Quds said an international campaign was launched to save UNRWA amidst warnings of its collapse.
It added Palestinian refugees rallied in Rafah in protest against the US decision to cut off funds to UNRWA.
Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee Zakaria al-Agha was reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida describing the financial deficit of the UN organization to political motives intended to liquidate it.
The dailies also highlighted the statements of King of Jordan Abdullah II during high-level talks with US Vice President Mike Pence, who is making a Middle East tour.
Al-Quds reported Pence in this regard stating that he and Abdullah “agreed to disagree” on Jerusalem.
Abdullah was reported in al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida emphasizing to Pence that East Jerusalem has to be the capital of the future Palestinian state.
The dailies added Palestinians would observe a general strike on Tuesday in the occupied Palestinian territories in protest of Pence’s visit to Jerusalem.
According to al-Ayyam, Slovenia and another three European states are slated to recognize the State of Palestine in February.
Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Adnan Husseini was reported in al-Quds expressing his hopes that the recommendations of the International Conference in Support of Jerusalem, which was recently hosted by al-Azhar in Cairo, would be translated into action.
K.F./M.K.
