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Statements commending efforts to restore Palestinian national unity dominated the front page headlines in Palestinian Arabic dailies.
Al-Quds reported two Palestinian delegations from the West Bank besides to an Egyptian delegation arrived at the besieged Gaza Strip as part of efforts to end the intra-Palestinian division.
It also reported head of Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh telling Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah over the phone that he has issued strict instructions to make it easy for the national consensus government to assume its responsibilities in the besieged coastal enclave.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported senior Hamas official Yahya Sinwar stating Hamas would make substantial concessions in order to achieve reconciliation.
They also reported the international Quartet for the Middle East peace welcomed intra-Palestinian reconciliation efforts, including efforts to create the conditions for the Palestinian Authority (PA) to assume its responsibilities in Gaza.
Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said Hamdallah discussed with UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov the latest developments and assurances of the national reconciliation during a meeting in Ramallah.
The dailies also reported President’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh describing reconciliation as a “paramount national interest” and stating that Abbas condemns violence from whatever source.
Covering West Bank raids and clashes, al-Quds said Israeli forces injured a number of Palestinians and caused several others to suffocate during raids into Bethlehem-district camp of Duheisha and Hebron-district town of Beit Ummar in the southern West Bank.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported a number of Palestinians were also shot and injured by Israeli forces in Jenin-district town of Yaabad in the northern West Bank.
Al-Quds added Israeli Jewish settlers forced their way into Joseph’s Tomb on the outskirts of Nablus, sparking clashes with local youths.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said Israeli forces imposed a siege on a cluster of Palestinian villages, northwest of Jerusalem, for the third day in a row.
The siege was imposed following a shooting attack carried out by a resident of the nearby village of Beit Surik on Tuesday, which killed an Israeli border police officer and two security guards outside Israel’s illegal settlement of Har Adar.
Al-Ayyam added Israeli undercover forces detained three Palestinians from Biddu village, northwest of Jerusalem.
The dailies added Israel closed off the West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip and deployed heavy police reinforcements across Jerusalem for Yom Kippur, turning the holy city into a military barrack.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam spotlighted US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman’s statements in which he said Israel was “only occupying 2 percent of the West Bank”.
Al-Quds highlighted the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) envoy to Washington Husam Zomlot’s remarks regarding Israel’s plan to get the US administration to shut down the PLO office in Washington in retaliation for the Palestinians’ successful bid to accede to Interpol.
Zomlot was reported affirming that closing the PLO office was non of Israel’s business, but a Palestinian-US matter.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported the PLO slamming the 50 year anniversary celebration of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank as “a defiance of the international will” and step that “undermines the peace process”.
(WAFA)
