RAMALLAH, Monday, October 07, 2019 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas’ remarks renewing pledge for new parliamentary elections dominated the front page headlines in Monday’s issue of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.
Abbas was reported in the dailies insisting on holding new parliamentary elections, the first since 2006, but without giving a promised timeframe.
He was also reported that the Palestinian leadership’s position on the stipends paid to the families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and those killed by Israeli forces and settlers has not changed.
Abbas made his remarks during a joint meeting for Fatah Central Committee, the PLO’s Executive Committee and senior security chiefs in Ramallah.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem was reported in al-Quds announcing that Hamas would deal positively with any step to ensure successful parliamentary elections.
Furthermore, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that six Palestinian prisoners are on a hunger strike, including Ahmad Ghannam, who has been hunger-striking for 86 consecutive days.
The prisoners are hunger-striking in protest against being placed under administrative detention, a system which allows Israel to arrest and hold people without charge indefinitely in Israeli prisons.
The dailies said that Israeli settlers slashed the tires of Palestinian-owned vehicles and spray-painted racist hate slogans in Qira village, to the north of the West Bank city of Salfit.
They said that Israeli forces delivered a demolition order to the Abu Hmeid family’s house in al-Amari refugee camp, south of Ramallah.
They also reported that Israeli police barged their way with police dog to the main Palestinian cancer treatment center in Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam added that Israeli police wearing boots forced their way to Bab al-Rahma prayer area inside Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
According to al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, heading a ministerial delegation, is scheduled to arrive today to Cairo following Abbas’ instructions.
Al-Quds highlighted Israeli media reports about finding the gigantic prehistoric city of En Esur in Palestine dating back 5,000 and 7,000 years ago. The excavated city is located half-way between today’s Tel Aviv and Haifa.
It said that a bill against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was introduced at the US Congress.
According to al-Quds and al-Ayyam, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to deploy additional police forces to combat violent crime rocking the Palestinian community in Israel.
Al-Ayyam said that Israel mulls revoking the residency status from co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement Omar Barghouti.
Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Israel Prize winners petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court against Israel’s Basic Nation-State Law, which enshrines Jewish supremacy in Israel.
According to al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida, Jordan on Sunday summoned the charge d‘Affaires of the Israeli embassy in Amman, demanding the release of two detained Jordanians.
K.F.
