RAMALLAH, November 30, 2013 (WAFA) – A 14-year-old child died Thursday because the ambulance carrying her to hospital could not go through an Israeli army checkpoint leading to Bethlehem known as the Container, the Palestinian Arabic daily al-Quds said in its main Friday front page story.

The paper said Nour Afaneh, a handicapped, fell ill with pneumonia and when an ambulance attempted to take her to hospital in Bethlehem the traffic jam caused by the Container checkpoint forced it to look for other ways, which were all blocked by heavy traffic or cars looking for alternate routes to the closed checkpoint.

The ambulance decided to take the girl to Ramallah, where Qalandia checkpoint at its main entrance also creates serious and long traffic jams. However, the girl died before arriving in hospital, said the paper.

The newspaper’s main Saturday front page story focused on plans to expand a settlement in the West Bank by seizing 1200 dunums of Deir Istiya land.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida and al-Ayyam touched in their main Saturday front page story on the weekly protests in various West Bank locations against Israel’s expropriation of Palestinian land for its settlement activities or construction of the segregation barrier.

They said dozens were hurt in the protests, including two serious, as people in the Nablus area village of Deir Istiya fear Israeli takeover of 1200 dunums of their agricultural land for settlement expansion.

The papers reported on the demonstrations at Qalandia checkpoint and clashes with Israeli soldiers for two days, Thursday and Friday, after a refugee camp resident died of wounds sustained a year earlier.

Mahmoud Awwad, 24, was critically injured when shot in the head about a year ago during an Israeli army attempt to arrest him. He has been in hospital since then until he was declared dead on Thursday.

They also reported on the events around the world that market the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Al-Ayyam focused in its main front page story on Friday on statements by the United Nations envoy to the peace process Robert Serry in which he expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip caused by the seven-year long Israeli blockade and the power cut for long hours every day due to shortage of fuel.

It said in its Saturday issue quoting Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat saying that reaching an agreement with Israel in the next five months is possible, but this requires Israeli partner and international guarantees.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida also reported on the visit by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to Lebanon.

The paper reported on the protests that erupted in various Israeli Arab towns after an Israeli court sentenced five Palestinian-Israelis from Shafa Amr to various prison terms for killing a Jewish terrorist after opening fire in a bus and killing four of their town residents on extreme nationalist reasons.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida said public school teachers have declared a general strike through Tuesday following dispute with the government over salaries and other issues.

M.S.