RAMALLAH, December 22, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli court’s response to a request by the Israeli government to postpone the evacuation of settlers from Amona outpost slated for demolition on December 25 hit the front page headlines in Palestinian dailies on Thursday.
Al-Quds said the Israeli High Court may accept the Israeli public prosecution’s request to postpone the evacuation of Amona provided that certain conditions are met.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said Israeli occupation forces leveled a nearby parcel of land, known as parcel 38, that Israeli government has seized for the relocation of the Amona settlers.
It is worth noting that Palestinians from the Ramallah area town of Silwad have filed an appeal, claiming ownership of the land allocated for the settlers.
Furthermore, al-Quds and al-Ayyam said Israel forced 15 Palestinian families to leave their homes to the east of Tubas in northern Jordan Valley to make room for military training.
They added Israeli bulldozers demolished a Palestinian home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan purportedly for lacking Israeli-issued building permit.
The critical health condition of Palestinian detainees Anas Shadid and Ahmad Abu Farah, who have been on a hunger strike for 89 and 90 days respectively, also hit the front page headlines in the dailies.
The dailies said Israeli doctors in the Israeli hospital of Assaf Harofeh, where Shadid and Abu Farah are currently detained, warned that they could suddenly die.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida added Palestinian detainee Ammar Hamour suspended his hunger strike awaiting a court session on December 28.
Hamour, 28, is from the Jenin district village of Jabaa. He went on a hunger strike for over 30 days in protest against his administrative detention.
While al-Quds and al-Ayyam highlighted the planned evacuation of Amona, al-Hayat al-Jadida opted to cover President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Saudi Arabia in its main news item.
It said Abbas discussed with King Salman the implementation of more Gaza reconstruction projects and the international peace conference.
Furthermore, al-Quds spotlighted Israel’s plan to relocate a permanent Israeli checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem located near al-Walaja village a few kilometers further into Palestinian-controlled lands. If moved, the checkpoint would deny Palestinian locals access into large tracts of their land on the outskirts of the village, including a natural spring known as Ain al-Haniyeh.
Al-Quds said the plan is designed to impose Israeli control over the natural spring. It reported the Palestinian Foreign Ministry as calling upon UNESCO to intervene and protect the site from Israeli takeover.
Al-Ayyam said three Palestinian refugees were killed in a shoot-out in Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon.
K.F./M.K.
