RAMALLAH, May 13, 2012 (WAFA) – The three Palestinian Arabic dailies Sunday highlighted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to President Mahmoud Abbas’ letter, which he received on Saturday.
The main headline in al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper said that Abbas met the Israeli envoy, Yitzhak Molcho, who delivered Netanyahu’s letter, adding that Abbas urged Israel to end the suffering of Palestinian prisoners and immediately release them, especially those arrested before 1994.
Featuring the same item, al-Ayyam reported that the PLO Central and Executive Committee are expected to hold separate meetings to discuss Netanyahu’s letter, the Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike in Israeli jails, the new Cabinet formation and the internal reconciliation.
Al-Quds featured on its front page a growing official and popular movement in solidarity with the striking prisoners in the Palestinian Territory and the world, adding that Abbas addressed the US Administration and urged it to intervene in the prisoners’ issue.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida quoted Prime Minister Salam Fayyad stressing it is time for an immediate international intervention to save the lives of the Palestinian prisoners, who have been on an open-ended hunger strike for 27 days.
Al-Ayyam printed a picture of Palestinian girls raising banners supporting the prisoners in a demonstration in Hebron, while al-Quds printed a photo of Arab and Israeli activists participating in a protest supporting the prisoners in the mixed Israeli-Arab city of Jaffa.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported on circulated rumors on a near agreement between the hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners and the Israeli Prisons’ Service amid official warnings against excessive optimism regarding the subject.
Al-Quds featured the Israeli army assault against the weekly non-violent demonstration in Beit Ummar, a town north of Hebron, on Saturday, leaving behind four injuries among protesters, including an international activist.
Al-Quds editorial tackled Netanyahu’s letter to Abbas and urged the Palestinian leadership not to make a hasten response to the Israeli side, especially under the boiling tension in the Palestinian community with the ongoing prisoners’ hunger strike.
R.Q.
