RAMALLAH, January 12, 2013 (WAFA) – The tent village named Bab al-Shams Palestinian activists had set up on Friday in E1 area east of Jerusalem dominated the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies published Saturday.

The papers said the village was set up to confront Israeli settlement plans for that area, which Israel said will be developed into one of the largest settlements to be built on occupied Palestinian land and which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had warned will be a red line if Israel proceeds with its plans.

The three papers reported on the Israeli army shooting and killing of a Palestinian in Jabaliya, north of the Gaza Strip, and the wounding of another in yet another Israeli violation of the ceasefire agreement reached in November under Egyptian auspices that ended eight days of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

The army crackdown on the peaceful weekly anti-wall, anti-settlements protests in the West Bank was also reported on the front page of the dailies.

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s tour of the most affected areas by the bad weather and storm that hit the northern West Bank in the last few days was reported on the front page of the dailies.

The papers said Fayyad toured those areas and promised people whose homes were damaged and farmers with quick aid.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported on the trouble that erupted in the town of Maythalon in the north of the West Bank during Fayyad’s visit to that area to inspect on the damage caused there by the storm.

The trouble started when residents attacked the town mayor apparently to protest the unification of the town with nearby areas to form one united council. Police intervened but residents clashed with the police causing several injuries. Fayyad had cancelled his trip to that town before the outbreak of trouble.

Al-Quds had a story from Washington in which it said the United States Department of State reiterated its opposition to Israeli settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land and that it was working on unfreezing $450 million of US aid to the Palestinians stopped by the Congress to punish the Palestinians for seeking United Nations recognition of their rights as people.

The paper also printed a story from the New York Times Magazine in which Israeli President Shimon Peres had indirectly admitted that Israel has assassinated Yasser Arafat when he answered a question by the reporter if it was necessary to assassinate Arafat and he said it was not necessary.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida said a delegation of 22 Hamas leaders had left the Gaza Strip to Egypt to participate in Palestinian reconciliation talks.

Al-Ayyam quoted Fayyad saying that his government is working on paying half salary for the public employees this week, “but not today,” it added in the headline. The government is yet to pay the second half of the November salary for its employees.

The paper also said seven Egyptian security men were injured when their post in the Sinai desert came under attack.

It also reported on the events in Syria and the killing of a Palestinian child in Yarmouk refugee camp and the wounding of 16 others. It also quoted UN envoy Ibrahimi saying there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria.

M.S.