RAMALLAH, February 27, 2018 (WAFA) – The three Palestinian Arabic dailies highlighted on their Tuesday front page different subjects, with al-Hayat al-Jadida highlighting the dilemma of the Holy Sepulcher Church in Jerusalem and church property in general, al-Ayyam quoting a US spokesman saying no change on the role of the US Consulate General in Jerusalem and al-Quds highlighting Israeli land grab measures in the occupied territories.

Regarding the Holy Sepulcher, al-Hayat al-Jadida said its doors remain closed for the third day in protest against Israeli imposition of taxes on Christian church properties.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam also reported on the situation with the Christian churches in Jerusalem and said that wide Palestinian, Arab and international condemnation of Israeli policy toward the churches and violation of their sanctity.

They said the European Union called for the preservation of the status quo in  Jerusalem, with al-Hayat al-Jadida saying the EU stressing that Jerusalem is sacred to the three monotheistic religions.

On the US Consulate General, al-Ayyam quoted an unnamed US State Department spokesman telling the Palestinian daily that moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem will not affect the work of the US Consulate General in the city, which was present in Jerusalem from before Israel’s occupation of the city in June 1967 and is responsible for contacts with the Palestinians.

The spokesman said also that it may take between 7 to 9 years to move the embassy to Jerusalem, which includes choosing a location, planning and construction.

Al-Quds reported on the Israeli land grab in the village of Madma and Dahr el-Maleh in the north of the West Bank, as well as in the northern Jordan Valley were settlers set up three settlement outposts. This was also reported in the other two dailies.

A-Quds said that Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem’s Old City was able to hold celebration for its rehabilitation in spite of an Israeli ban on presence of two Palestinian Authority ministers from attending the event.

It reported on the visit of the Egyptian security delegation to Gaza to follow up on the troubled intra-Palestinian reconciliation and quoted Hamas leader in Gaza Yehya Sinwar saying his movement is ready to allow the conciliation government to take over collection of taxes and other revenues in the Gaza Strip.

Al-Ayyam said the Egyptian delegation is working hard to overcome the difficulties facing reconciliation.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida said Hamas has come up with new excuses to obstruct the work of the ministries in Gaza.

It also said in a report from Gaza that the US decision to cut aid to the UN refugee agency UNRWA has turned the life of 100 engineers working with UNRWA into living hell.

It also said that firefighters were able to put off a fire in a chips factory in Hebron.

M.K.