RAMALLAH, August 9, 2018 (WAFA) – The volatile situation in the besieged Gaza Strip and President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Jordan dominated the front page headlines in Palestinian dailies on Thursday.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported that a Palestinian was killed and several others wounded in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

Al-Quds added that in response Palestinian resistance fighters launched over 70 projectiles into the Israeli settlements in Gaza periphery, injuring 12 Israelis. According to al-Ayyam, injuries among Israelis totaled 16.

The dailies printed photos showing plumes of smoke and dust rising from the sites hit in the Israeli airstrikes.

Also with regards to Gaza, al-Quds reported that the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov was conducting intensive contacts to de-escalate the situation.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that the UN has urged Israel to immediately allow the entry of emergency fuel into the besieged coastal enclave.

Highlighting progress in UN and Egyptian efforts to broker a truce to de-escalate the situation, al-Quds quoted well-informed sources revealing that Hamas has agreed to a five-year truce which includes a prisoner swap deal.

Al-Ayyam reported senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya stating that indirect Gaza truce talks with Israel have reached “advanced stages” and that both parties would test one another for two weeks.

On the other hand, al-Hayat al-Jadida covered Abbas’ meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in its main front page news item.

It reported that Abbas expressed his appreciation of Jordan’s historic positions on the Palestinian question in addition to King Abdullah’s efforts to defend the rights of the Palestinian people, while al-Quds said that Abbas reiterated his rejection of the US Mideast plan, dubbed deal of the century.

On his turn, Abdullah was reported in al-Quds stating that the issue of Jerusalem should be resolved as part of the final-status issues.

He was also reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida stating that neither peace nor stability would prevail in the region without a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution.

Al-Ayyam said that Abbas-Abdullah summit stressed on continued coordination and efforts to confront challenges to Jerusalem and the holy sites.

Additionally, al-Quds reported that employees staged a sit-in inside the UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza in protest of the UN relief agency’s decision to terminate and downgrade the contracts of thousands of employees.

Moreover, al-Hayat al-Jadida covered the meeting between Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl over the financial crisis gripping the agency in Amman.

It reported Safadi warning: “UNRWA faces a dangerous financial deficit that threatens catastrophic consequences on refugees if it is not covered before its financial allocations run out.”

According to al-Quds, Germany provided an additional contribution of 8.4 million Euros to UNRWA.

Moreover, head of the Anti-Wall and Settlements Authority Walid Assaf was reported in al-Quds and al-Ayyam declaring that residents of the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem, would not agree to be transferred to another place in response to an Israeli plan to forcefully displace them.

It also reported that the US State Department is discussing with the National Security Council restructuring of the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees.

It said that Israel has decided to shut down the Ibrahimi Mosque in the southern West Bank city of Hebron for Muslims under the pretense of Jewish holidays.

It highlighted reports that Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American and former Michigan state representative, won the Democratic nomination for Congress in a Detroit-based district.

Yet, the dailies spotlighted media reports about an Israeli plan to triple the size of Amihai settlement between the West Bank cities of Nablus and Ramallah.

In addition, al-Ayyam reported that Colombia has recognized the State of Palestine, while al-Hayat al-Jadida hailed this recognition as a “diplomatic victory” scored by Palestine.

They reported Nasser al-Qudwa expressing appreciation for Fatah Central Committee for their statement rejecting his resignation.

K.F./M.K.