RAMALLAH, May 10, 2018 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas’ two-day visit to Chile’s capital, Santiago, and reactions to the US pullout from the Iran nuclear agreement made headline news in Palestinian Arabic dailies on Thursday.
Abbas was reported in al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida stating that the Palestinian side seeks negotiations based on United Nations (UN) resolutions and the two-state solution along the 1967 borders.
Al-Ayyam added that Abbas and his Chilean counterpart Sebastián Piñera held official talks and discussed the development of areas of Palestinian-Chilean cooperation.
He was also reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida stressing that East Jerusalem is part of the territories Israel has occupied since June 1967 and the capital of the State of Palestine which shall be open for the followers of the three monotheistic faiths; Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Reactions to US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out from the landmark Iran nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also made headline news in al-Quds and al-Ayyam.
Al-Quds reported in this regard that the US pullout from the agreement stirred up international concern.
Al-Ayyam added that the European Union (EU) and China have rushed to safeguard the agreement.
It also reported Trump warning Iran “something will happen” if the country refuses to renegotiate the agreement.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam also highlighted the risk of a regional conflagration after Israel pounded alleged Iranian targets in Syria.
Regarding the situation in the besieged Gaza Strip, al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported that the Israeli military has had new instructions to target Palestinian protestors who fly kites from the Great March of Return encampments along Gaza’s eastern border.
They also reported Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar saying that major mediation efforts were being exerted to halt the Great March of Return protests.
Al-Ayyam added that a Palestinian fishing boat survived sinking after being targeted by Israeli naval boats.
The dailies said that Israeli forces raided Abu Dis town, east of Jerusalem, triggering clashes with Palestinian residents.
According to al-Ayyam and al-Hayat, al-Jadida, Israeli forces wounded dozens of Palestinian young men in the town and a female soldier was injured.
The dailies added that Israeli bulldozers demolished Palestinian residential and agricultural structures in Doma village, south of Nablus.
The dailies said that Israeli occupation authorities have seized part of the historic Bab al-Rahmeh Islamic cemetery, next to East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Israeli troops reportedly closed off part of the cemetery.
Al-Ayyam said Israeli police allowed women to enter Al-Aqsa compound dressed in religious attire for a religious ritual.
According to al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida, Israel plans to allocate 60 million Israeli shekels ($16.6 million) on excavations beneath Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Al-Quds said that the Hamas-affiliated Islamic al-Wafaa bloc won the student senate elections in Birzeit University, while according to al-Hayat al-Jadida, Fatah-affiliated Shabiba bloc won elections in Bethlehem University and Palestine Ahliya University College in Bethlehem.
It said that Israel has made preparations to celebrate the 51st anniversary of its “annexation” of East Jerusalem on Sunday May 13 at the Umayyad period ruins, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida spotlighted media reports that Israel has revoked the work permit of Human Rights Watch official Omar Shakir and ordered him to leave within two weeks over alleged support for BDS movement.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi was reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida stressing that the only path to realizing lasting and comprehensive peace is solving the Palestinian question based on the two-state solution.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that celebration by the Israeli embassy in Cairo of the 70th anniversary for Israel’s creation has stirred up popular anger and raised questions on normalization.
K.F./M.K.
