RAMALLAH, January 31, 2018 (WAFA) – The killing of a Palestinian teenager by Israeli forces in Ramallah village of al-Mughayer hit the front page headlines of the Palestinian Arabic dailies on Wednesday.

The dailies reported that Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian teenager during clashes in al-Mughayyer village, north of Ramallah.

They identified the teenage as Laith Abu Naim, 16, who was shot and critically injured in the head with a live ammunition before he was rushed to a hospital in Ramallah, where he succumbed to his wounds.  

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported that Israeli forces detained scores of Palestinians during large-scale overnight raids across the West Bank.

According to al-Hayat al-Jadida, Israeli forces detained a total of 56 Palestinians during West Bank raids.

On the other hand, al-Quds opted to highlight Israeli efforts to secure US agreement to “annex” West Bank settlement blocs in its main front page news item.

It said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Vice President Mike Pence were pressurizing US President Donald Trump into approving “Israel’s right to annex settlement blocs across the West Bank”.

Furthermore, al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported that thousands of Palestinians attended the funeral procession of senior Hamas member Imad Al-Alami in Gaza city.

Al-Alami, 62, died Tuesday morning as a result of injuries he sustained three weeks ago while he was inspecting his personal weapon in Gaza city.

According to al-Quds, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has advocated the Americans’ right to boycott Israel.

According to ACLU’s online page, a federal  judge ruled to block the enforcement of a Kansas law targeting boycotts of Israel, ruling that the First Amendment protects the right to engage in political boycotts.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that Israeli activists have petitioned the Irish Parliament to back a bill blocking products of Israeli settlements.

Al-Quds added in this regard that the Irish Parliament has postponed a debate on the bill blocking products of Israeli settlements.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that the Slovenian Parliament is slated to recognize the State of Palestine soon.

Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee Saeb Erekat was reported in al-Quds as stating that the Palestinian leadership was scheduled to hold two meetings during the next week to implement the  Palestinian Central Council’s recent decisions ]on reconsidering relations with Israel[.   

Erekat was also reported in al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida as stressing that there would be no communication or talks with the US Administration until the latter reverses its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Moreover, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida highlighted the protest against the US delegation’s visit to Bethlehem.

Al-Quds reported in this regard that Palestinian activists prevented a US delegation from attending a workshop at the office of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported in this regard that Palestinian leadership denounced the attack against the US Consulate’s delegation in Bethlehem.

The dailies also reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inaugurated a settler-only bypass road near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia and pledged to continue settlement construction.

The financial crisis gripping the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, also dominated the front page headlines in the dailies.

The dailies reported that UNRWA has launched an appeal of over $800 million for its programs in Syria and the occupied Palestinian Territories.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida referred to Israeli media reports that the US has threatened to totally cut off its funding to UNRWA and undermine the refugees’ right to return.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl criticizing Washington’s decision to cut off funding to UNRWA as politicized.

AL-Quds highlighted events marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in Arab Palestinian towns across Israel.

UN Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov was reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida as stating that the key to saving Gaza from disaster was restoring the Palestinian national consensus government to power there.

Al-Quds said that the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee’s (AHLC) was scheduled to hold a meeting at the ministerial level in Brussels today to discuss the efforts to support the two-state solution through negotiations.

According to al-Hayat al-Jadida, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah was scheduled to attend the AHLC’s emergency meeting.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida added that Hamdallah discussed with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy Federica Mogherini concrete steps to oblige Israel to halt its violations against the Palestinian people.

Governor of Jerusalem Adnan Husseini was reported in al-Ayyam as slamming the Israeli military’s recent decision to take control of security in Shufat refugee camp and Kafr Aqab, two East Jerusalem neighborhoods, as a prelude to Israel’s annexation of West Bank settlements.

K.F/M.N