RAMALLAH, Sunday, June 09, 2019 (WAFA) – Statements of the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, in which he said that Israel has the right to retain and annex some parts of the occupied West Bank, hit the front pages of the three Arabic Palestinian dailies on Sunday.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida, al-Ayyam and al-Quds reported Friedman’s statements in which he said that Israel has the right to annex some parts of, but unlikely all, the occupied West Bank, including Jewish settlements.
“Under certain circumstances, I think Israel has the right to retain some, but unlikely all, of the West Bank,” Friedman told the New York Times in the interview published on Saturday. “The absolute last thing the world needs is a failed Palestinian state between Israel and Jordan. We‘re relying upon the fact that the right plan, for the right time, will get the right reaction over time.”
Friedman’s statement was faced with backlash from several organizations and Palestinian officials.
Ibrahim Melhem, spokesman for the Palestinian government, condemned the US ambassador’s remarks, describing Friedman as an “ambassador of settlements.”
Friedman’s statement was also slammed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and national factions.
Israeli left-wing NGO Peace Now called on US President Donald Trump to fire Friedman, describing the latter as a Trojan horse sent by the settler’s right to sabotage Israeli interests.
The dailies that over 76,000 students Saturday started the high school general matriculation exams known in Palestine as Injaz (formerly Tawjihi) in the cities of West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported that Israeli forces detained a Palestinian young woman on Saturday at the Qalandia checkpoint, on Ramallah-Jerusalem road, under the pretext that she had a knife on her possession.
According to the dailies, Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian said that they have yet to discover the content of the peace plan promoted by Trump’s son in law and senior adviser Jared Kushner.
During a joint press conference in Morocco’s capital, Rabat, the two ministers reiterated their firm positions in support of an independent Palestinian state.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Lebanese Minister of National Defense Elias Bou Saab visited in the hospital the Palestinian refugee Saber Murad, who has been shot in the head after throwing himself in front of crowds when a gunman opened fire in the northern Lebanon city of Tripoli on Monday.
Murad was given the Medal of Courage as an award by President Mahmoud Abbas for his heroic act.
National forces announced a series of popular activities against “the deal of the century” in the city of Ramallah during the upcoming days, al-Ayyam said.
K.T/M.N
