RAMALLAH, Tuesday, December 22, 2020 (WAFA) – The killing of a Palestinian by Israeli police in Jerusalem following an alleged attempted attack dominated the front page headlines in Tuesday’s issue of the three mainstream Palestinian Arabic dailies.

The dailies reported that Israeli police shot and killed a Palestinian in the occupied city of Jerusalem.

They identified the slain Palestinian as 17-year-old Mahmoud Kmail from the northern West Bank city of Qabatiya.

The latest spate of settler attacks against Palestinians also hit the front page headlines in the dailies.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported in this regard that Israeli settlers waged a large-scale spate of attacks across the West Bank, injuring a number of Palestinians and causing property damages.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida printed a photo showing settlers attacking a Palestinian bus in Jerusalem, and another showing settlers gathering near Nablus city preparing to attack Palestinian vehicles.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that the Israeli occupation authorities proceeded with the demolitions of Palestinian structures, land razing and confiscation.

According to al-Ayyam, five Palestinians were injured with Israeli military gunfire as Israeli forces raided Nablus city.

According to al-Quds, the Anti-Wall and Settlement Commission foiled an attempt by Israeli settlers to seize 14 donums of land belonging to Al-Jib village, northwest of Jerusalem.

It said that 24 European parliamentarians signed a petition urging Israel to “help” the besieged Gaza Strip face the Covid-19 pandemic.

The dailies highlighted the latest statistics of the pandemic outbreak in the occupied Palestinian territories (the West Bank and Gaza).

They said that 1,514 Palestinians tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 31 other died of it.

Al-Quds added in this regard that 1,848 Covid-19 patients recovered.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported the Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry confirming 47 new cases among Palestinians in the Diaspora.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported Palestinian medics warning of the fact that youthful Covid-19 patients suffer new severe complications.

Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that the Palestinian government approved financial allocations to help Palestinians in Jerusalem face the Israeli occupation schemes.

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh was reported stating that tightening the precautionary measures provides hope in facing the pandemic pending the arrival of the vaccine.  

Al-Quds said that the Ateret Cohanim colonial settler group has filed bogus displacement suits under the name of Benvenisti Trust against Palestinian families in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, threatening some 700 Palestinians with displacement.

Ateret Cohanim is an organization aiming to create a Jewish majority in East Jerusalem at the expense of Palestinian people.

Al-Quds added that over 244 settlers forced their way into Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as Israeli police inspect Palestinian worshippers inside the compound.

Deputy Chairman of Fatah Mahmoud al-Aloul was reported in al-Quds expressing his hopes that the new US administration would “correct the course” and return to the two-state solution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner were reported in al-Quds bragging that Israel would sign normalization agreements with more Arab and Islamic countries soon.

According to al-Hayat al-Jadida, the Israeli occupation authorities seized a quantity of PA-labeled tobacco and cigarette packages from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina.

It highlighted Israeli media reports on Israeli controversy over consolidating the status of the Palestinian Authority as a state at the East Mediterranean Gas Forum.

It also reported National Economy Minister Khaled al-Ossaili stating that the Palestinian economy shrunk in 2020 within expectations and that estimates indicate that it lost some USD 2.5 billion.

It reported the Palestine Trade Center (PALTRADE) saying that returning to economic growth requires time besides to local and foreign investment.

K.F.