RAMALLAH– Two of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies published today highlighted excerpts from an interview conducted by an Egyptian TV channel with President Mahmoud Abbas while the third highlighted the aftermath of the Israeli elections.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida daily quoted President Abbas saying: “What is required from the Israelis is to stop all unilateral activities and release the clearance funds,” “We seek full membership in the United Nations,” and “We will not accept Israel’s denial of Jerusalem residents to participate in the (Palestinian) elections.”
Al-Ayyam daily quoted the President saying important meetings are going to be held to discuss the Algiers declaration on Palestinian reconciliation as many important parties in the world do not want to see the reconciliation take hold.
It said this is the first TV interview for President Abbas in five years.
The third daily, al-Quds, also quoted President Abbas in the interview but lower on the front page while it made mandating Israel’s winner of the elections, Benjamin Netanyahu, to form the next Israeli government, but said its presentation at the Knesset will be delayed due to differences among contenders for the cabinet seats.
Al-Quds also reported on an Israeli plan to build 9,000 settlement housing units on land that was part of the Jerusalem airport before 1967.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida quoted presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh expressing surprise at accusations by the Israeli premier, Lapid, of unilateral Palestinian steps following a vote at the UN asking for a legal opinion from the International Court of Justice regarding Israel’s occupation.
It said President Abbas condemned the terrorist attack in Istanbul and sent his condolences to his Turkish counterpart.
The explosion in Istanbul, which left six dead and more than 80 injured, was also covered on the front page of the other two dailies.
Al-Ayyam said settlers attacked farmers near Dura in the south of the West Bank and clashes were reported between Palestinians with soldiers in a village near Ramallah.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency