RAMALLAH, Saturday, February 16, 2019 (WAFA) – The weekly March of Return protests on the Gaza border with Israel and the anti-occupation protests in the West Bank were highlighted on the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies today.
The papers said dozens of people were injured from Israeli army gunfire in Gaza as well as in the West Bank villages of Urif and Bilin.
They quoted United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres saying that he is committed to work for a just solution to the Palestinian question and warning of the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Quds said Israel is going to build 2800 new settlement units in occupied Jerusalem, while dozens of people demonstrated against the expulsion of the Sabbagh family from its home in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem for the benefit of Israeli settlers.
It quoted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that the Palestinians are worse off for not attending Warsaw conference, while Muslim scholars came out against normalization of relations with Israel as Kuwait stressed that relations with Israel depend on reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian conflict.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida quoted the Yemini foreign minister saying as he was seen sitting next to the Israeli prime minister in Warsaw that this country’s position from the Palestinian issue has not changed.
It quoted Palestinian mission representative to the United Nations Riyad Mansour saying that 50 countries have joined a new group to defend and protect the UN charter following US threats of a military action against Venezuela.
In a report by its Washington correspondent, al-Quds said the pro-Israel lobby group, AIPAC, collects $100 million every year in tax free donations.
It also said that Palestinian-Israeli lawmaker, Ahmad Tibi, is in first place in his party’s list, the Arab List for Change, for the upcoming Israeli legislative elections.
Al-Ayyam said Australia gave up on the idea of moving its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem under pressure from Indonesia.
It quoted Hussein al-Sheikh, member of Fatah Central Committee, saying that the Palestinian Authority rejected an Israeli proposal to have a joint railroad from Jenin to Haifa and to the Arab world.
The papers also reported on the developments in the United States after US President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency and on the conflict between Poland and Israel following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements accusing Poland of responsibility for the holocaust.
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