RAMALLAH, Thursday, October 17, 2019 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Riyadh and meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz dominated the front page headlines in Thursday’s issue of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.

Abbas was reported in al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reiterating his support for Saudi Arabia in “countering terrorism”.

The Saudi monarch was reported in al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida renewing his country’s ongoing support to the Palestinian people and leadership until regaining the right for an independent state.

The latest spate of Israeli settlers’ attacks against Palestinians across the West Bank also dominated the front page headlines.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam elaborated that Israeli settlers punctured the tires of some 15 Palestinian vehicles and scrawled hate graffiti in Deir Ammar village, west of Ramallah city.

They added that settlers attacked Palestinian farmers while picking their olive crops and torched olive trees across the West Bank.

Settlers attacked olive harvesters and international supporters in Burin village, south of Nablus city, injuring an Israeli activist and causing bruises to international activists, and set fire to the olive fields. They also hurled rocks at olive farmers in Jabaa village, south of Bethlehem.

According to al-Quds, a Palestinian teenage was shot and injured from Israeli military gunfire in Qaffin village, north of Tulkarem.

It added that Israeli forces conducted multiple raids across the West Bank, rounding up 20 Palestinian young men.

It also reported that Israeli forces sealed Bab Al-Zawiya area in Hebron city to allow settlers to barge their way into a Palestinian house to perform rituals.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that several Palestinians were injured from Israeli military gunfire as hundreds of settlers forced their way to Joseph’s Tomb in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Focusing on Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that hundreds of settlers forced their way into Jerusalem’s flashpoint site.

They elaborated that settlers’ intrusions into the mosque compound came as Israeli police cracked down on female worshippers who stayed inside the mosque, known as Murabitat, and banned Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher Ismail Nawahda entry into the holy site for 11 days.

The Catholic human rights center of St. Yves was reported in al-Quds cautioning against the escalation of Israeli municipality’s practices against Palestinian houses in Jerusalem.

The dailies reported Jordan denying Israeli media reports that Jordan had agreed to extend an agreement leasing the Baqoura and Ghumar areas to Israel.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam highlighted progress on the formation of the new Israeli coalition government.

Al-Quds said that the Israeli right-wing parties signed a document preventing the formation of a coalition government that has the support of the Joint Arab List party.

Al-Ayyam said that negotiations on the formation of the new government are moving towards a solution with expectations that it will be headed by current Premier Benjamin Netanyahu.

Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights was reported in al-Quds saying that 80 percent of Gaza fishermen are under the poverty line due to Israeli violations.

Al-Quds said that the Jerusalem District Electricity Company (JDECO) received the first warning pertaining to the second phase of power cuts from some West Bank districts.

JDECO was officially notified by the Israeli Electric Company (IEC) that the latter intends to cut power supply some of JDECO’s concession areas in the West Bank over accumulated debts.

According to al-Ayyam, Samer Arbid has regained his consciousness as the Israeli internal security service, the Shin Bet, intends to continue interrogating him.

Arbid, 44, is being hospitalized with a fractured rib cage, kidney failure and bruises all over his body after undergoing interrogation with the Shin Bet for the alleged killing of an Israeli teen in August.

Al-Ayyam said that scores of Jordanian activists and prisoners’ relatives staged a rally in Amman demanding the immediate release of Jordanian prisoners in Israeli jails.

According to al-Hayat al-Jadida, the Palestinian ambassador to Tunisia Hayel al-Fahoum delivered a letter from Abbas to Tunisian president-elect Kais Saied congratulating Saied on his victory in the presidential election.

It said that Palestinians staged a rally in front of the Israeli prison of al-Jalama in solidarity with Hiba Labadi, a 32-year-old Jordanian-Palestinian who has been hynger-striking for 24 days in protest of her administrative detention in Israel.

It reported Premier Mohammad Shtayyeh urging local universities to align their academic programs to the labor market needs.

K.F.