RAMALLAH, July 5, 2012 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Authority’s call for an international investigation into the causes for the illness and death of the former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was the main front page focus of the Thursday issue of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.

The prime headline in al-Quds newspaper reported that the PA does not mind exhuming Arafat’s body to conduct further tests in light of the recent report on al-Jazeera on Arafat’s death.

Another front page story in al-Ayyam newspaper was the seizure of private Palestinian land by Israeli settlers from Rotem in north of the Jordan Valley to expand their settlement.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported on denial by a Jordanian official of allegations that Jordan was forcing Palestinians to give up their Palestinian passport in order to obtain the Jordanian passport or citizenship.

Al-Quds featured a report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz indicating that the Israeli Ministry of Justice closed cases against dozens of policemen involved in violence against left-wing protesters in East Jerusalem without making even minimal efforts to investigate the allegations.

Al-Ayyam was the only newspaper to highlight the Israeli parliament’s approval on an extension of temporary legislation exempting Israeli security forces from documenting investigation of “suspected security offenders,” amid opposition from Israeli human rights groups and the public defender’s office.

Al-Quds editorial stressed the Palestinian people’s right to know the truth behind Arafat’s death and called on the Palestinian leadership to pursue the investigation to expose the parties responsible for his death.

R.Q./M.S.