RAMALLAH, Monday, February 11, 2019 (WAFA) – The speech delivered by President Mahmoud Abbas at the 32nd African Union Summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and reports that the Palestinian Authority informing Israel it will not accept its tax revenues if any amount was cut from it dominated the front page headlines in Palestinian Arabic dailies on Monday.
Abbas was reported in al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida calling on the African Union and its member states to support the idea of an international peace conference and to participate in it.
He was also reported in al-Ayyam calling on the African Union and its member states to support Palestine’s quest to gain a full UN membership.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida also reported him emphasizing that the struggle against colonialism, racism and injustice and the affirmation of the right of peoples to self-determination are common issues between Palestine and the peoples of the African continent.
Additionally, al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh pledging that the Palestinian Authority (PA) would refuse to accept the tax revenues if Israel deducts a penny from it.
He was also reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida stating that major international financial institutions and parties have started to impose a tightened financial blockade on the PA following a request from the US.
Furthermore, al-Quds said that Israeli settlers went on a rampage in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, terrorizing Palestinian residents.
Also with regards to the situation in Hebron, the dailies said that Palestinians marched in the city holding torches, marking the 25th anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre.
In 1994, Israeli Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein committed a massacre at the mosque, gunning down 29 Palestinians, a massacre that triggered the deployment of the only international monitors, known as the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), protecting Hebron’s Palestinians from 800 heavily guarded far-right settlers.
They dailies added Palestinian activists accompanied students while going to schools in the city following Israel’s decision to expel TIPH observers.
Besides, al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported Fatah movement decrying calls by Israeli settlers for the assassination of President Abbas.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida explained that settlers staged several rallies in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and several illegal settlements in the West Bank carrying banners that called for the killing of Abbas.
Al-Quds highlighted several violations committed by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinians.
It said that Israeli forces banned Palestinian teachers’ access to their school in Beit Iksa village, northwest of Jerusalem.
It added that Orif Secondary School in the village of Orif, southwest of Nablus, was forced to evacuate students after being attacked by Israeli forces and settlers.
According to al-Quds, delegations from Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements are heading to Moscow following an invitation extended by Moscow for dialogue among the Palestinians.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that Jordan condemns Israeli violations against East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Furthermore, al-Quds highlighted the meeting between Secretary-General of the PLO’s Executive Committee Saeb Erekat and Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman.
It reported them warning that the status quo was unsustainable.
Erekat was also reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida stressing that the Palestinian people has not authorized anyone to negotiate on its behalf because it takes its decision independently.
According to al-Ayyam, a US pharmaceutical company is threatening to “prosecute” two Palestinian pharmaceutical companies before Israeli courts.
It reported the European Union warning that the Israeli policy of settlement construction makes the two-state solution increasingly unviable.
It also reported that Netherlands recognizes the West Bank and Gaza Strip as the official birthplace for Palestinians living in the country.
K.F./M.K.
