RAMALLAH, May 30, 2015 (WAFA) – Israeli forces’ suppression of weekly peaceful Friday marches in protest of Israeli settlement and wall construction across the West Bank together with FIFA’s vote on the proposal to form a committee to monitor the freedom of Palestinian football players to move in and out of the occupied Palestinian Territories hit the front page headlines in Palestinian dailies.

The three Arabic dailies reported that dozens of Palestinians suffered excessive tear gas inhalation and were injured as Israeli forces suppressed peaceful marches protesting the construction of the wall.

Al-Quds reported that Israeli forces physically assaulted a Palestinian woman and her son in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-‘Issawiya.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported in this regard that several Palestinians were injured during the peaceful marches and five Palestinians, including two women, were detained.

Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that Israeli settlers pelted Palestinian-registered vehicles with stones and fired at them using blank cartridges near Nahalin town to the west of Bethlehem.

While suppression of weekly marches featured the main front page news article in al-Ayyam, al-Quds opted to give prominence to Israeli plans to construct new settler units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Jabal Abu Ghneim (Har Homa).

It reported that Israel plans to build 232 settler units in Abu Ghneim [illegal] settlement; including 90 units in ‘Har Homa C’ settlement and that it intends to market other 142 units in a separate project.

Meanwhile in its main front page news item, al-Hayat al-Jadida opted to highlight FIFA’s vote on a proposal to monitor the freedom of Palestinian football players to move in and out of the occupied Palestinian Territories.

It together with al-Quds reported that the FIFA Congress voted on the formation of a committee to be in charge of halting Israeli violations against Palestinian football players.

Al-Quds added that the proposal was passed with 90% of member countries voting in favor.

Al-Ayyam reported in this regard that the committee would be in charge of solving the problems related to the movement of Palestinian football players and the status of Israeli teams in ‘racist’ Israeli settlements across the West Bank.

Head of the Palestinian Football Association Jibril Rajoub was reported as saying that the Palestinian application calling for the suspension of Israel from FIFA was not withdrawn, but merely suspended.

Tackling the French judges inquiry into the death of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported that the two lawyers representing Arafat’s widow, Suha, have requested that the French judiciary undertake ‘further procedures’ to investigate the circumstances surrounding Arafat’s death.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barack was reported in al-Quds as calling for a unilateral disengagement from the West Bank.

Current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted in al-Ayyam as saying: “The Arab Peace Initiative is no longer valid and there is an opportunity for Israel to cooperate with Arab countries.”

Fatah Central Committee Member Nabil Sha‘ath was quoted in al-Ayyam as saying: “The time has come for setting up an international framework on negotiations.”

K. F./T.R.