RAMALLAH, January 25, 2017 (WAFA) – Israel‘s approval of plans for the construction of 2,500 new settler units in illegal Jewish-only settlements across the occupied West Bank dominated the front page headlines in the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.
They read that Israeli occupation authorities approved the construction of 2,500 new settler units in a number of West Bank settlements. Al-Quds noted that this move came just several days after US President Donald Trump took office.
Highlighting the lack of an official US position on settlement construction, al-Quds and al-Ayyam said the White House espoused a muted response on Israeli settlements expansion.
Both dailies said the Palestinian leadership warned against the serious consequences of settlement construction and called upon the international community to hold Israel accountable for settlement construction.
Al-Quds said a number of Palestinians were shot and injured and others suffocated during clashes with Israeli forces across the West Bank.
Highlighting detention raids, al-Hayat al-Jadida said Israeli forces detained a total of 14 Palestinians during overnight raids across the West Bank.
Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said Israeli troops delivered a demolition notice for an agricultural structure in the East Jerusalem town of Hizma. They also delivered a stop-construction notice for retaining walls in the Bethlehem district town of al-Khader.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said Israeli artillery targeted two locations, east of al-Maghazi refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip.
While al-Ayyam reported that the Sub Labban family has successfully foiled an attempt by Israeli settlers to seize their store in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said settlers seized a Palestinian commercial store in Jerusalem’s Old City, while Israeli bulldozers demolished dozens of Palestinian structures in Khirbet al-Kurzaliya in the northern Jordan Valley ]a day before they forced out dozens of Palestinians from their homes to carry out military drills[.
The dailies said large crowds of mourners of Palestinian citizens of Israel attended the funeral procession of Yacoub Abu al-Qian.
Abu al-Qian was a Palestinian citizen of Israel and a local math teacher who was shot dead by Israeli police during a demolition raid into the unrecognized Bedouin community of Umm al-Hiran in the Naqab.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said before leaving office, outgoing US President Barack Obama ordered $221 million in aid to be granted to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Highlighting President Mahmoud Abbas’ meeting with the US Consul-General Donald Blome in Ramallah, al-Hayat al-Jadida said they discussed the new changes in Washington DC.
K.F/M.H
