RAMALLAH, February 21, 2018 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday and world reaction to the speech, mainly US and Israeli reactions, occupied a large segment of the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic newspapers on Wednesday.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida, al-Ayyam and al-Quds reported that President Abbas proposed a peace plan that calls for holding an international peace conference in the mid 2018 to be based on international resolutions and with a wide international participation that includes both the Palestinian and Israeli sides as well as regional and international parties.
They highlighted the main points in his speech that focused on what will be expected from this conference, such as accepting State of Palestine as a full member state at the UN.
Commenting on the president’s speech, the three newspapers reported a statement by Palestinian Authority chief negotiator and secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat. He said President Abbas‘ address to the Security Council reaffirmed Palestine‘s commitment to international law, UN resolutions and the two-state solution on the 1967 border.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that President Abbas met on Monday in New York with the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Sabah and briefed him on the latest political developments in the Palestinian issue.
He also thanked Kuwait for its support of the Palestinian cause and thanked the Kuwaiti foreign minister for attending and chairing the Security Council session.
The three dailies said that Israeli forces demolished on Tuesday a structure in the Bedouin community of Jabal al-Baba in al-Eizariya to the southeast of Jerusalem and detained a Palestinian who protested the demolition.
Al-Ayyam said that Israeli forces removed on Tuesday an illegal outpost set up by Jewish settlers earlier this month on Beita, Qabalan, and Yatma lands to the south of Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Al-Quds said that the Egyptian authorities will open Rafah crossing with Gaza for four days starting Wednesday.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported a statement by Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. He said that settlements and Palestinian homes demolition in the West Bank must stop.
The International Monetary Fund said in a statement on Tuesday that the Palestinian economy is reaching the breaking point, according to al-Quds.
Housing Minister Mufid al-Hasayna thanked Qatar for its support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as reported in al-Quds.
The paper quoted Hamas officials saying their visit to Cairo is still ongoing until there is a breakthrough in the reconciliation with Fatah.
Al-Ayyam said Hamas started to build a commercial terminal near Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Al-Quds quoted the US ambassador to Israel, a staunch supporter of the illegal Israeli settlements, warning that evacuating the settlements will lead to civil war.
Reports about corruption charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were included on the front page of the three dailies.
K.T./M.K.
