RAMALLAH, July 20, 2017 (WAFA) – Rising tensions in East Jerusalem following the installation of metal detectors at the gates leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound dominated front page headlines in Thursday’s Palestinian Arabic dailies.
Al-Quds reported Israeli forces attacked Jerusalemite Palestinians who continued to perform prayers five times a day in plazas and streets leading to the holy compound to express their rejection of the metal detectors.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam added Israeli forces attacked Palestinians who demonstrated in rejection of the Israeli measures in Jerusalem, injuring a number of protestors near Qalandiya military checkpoint, north of Jerusalem, and at the northern entrance of Bethlehem.
Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida added members of Islamic Waqf (Endowment) in charge of running the mosque compound called on Palestinians in East Jerusalem to close all mosques and perform their Friday prayers in front of Al-Aqsa Mosque gates.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam added Egypt urged Israel to stop violence and warned of the dangers of the Israeli escalation at the mosque.
It also reported the Palestinian Association for Human Rights filed a complaint with the United Nations against Israeli measures in East Jerusalem.
Al-Ayyam also reported Father Issa Musleh, spokesperson for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, slamming Israeli measures against the mosque as attacks against the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Beijing also dominated the front page headlines in the dailies.
They reported Abbas decided to cut short his visit to Beijing and return home in order to closely follow-up on the latest events in East Jerusalem.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported Abbas warning Israeli measures at the mosque compound would have serious consequences for the entire region and calling on the US Administration to take immediate action to stop the Israeli escalation.
It also reported him stressing the importance of the peace initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping and expressing readiness to coordinate with China to examine ways to advance the initiative on the ground.
The dailies also reported five Palestinians were killed and several others were injured in a car accident between an Israeli truck and a Palestinian transport vehicle near Yaabad in the northern West Bank district of Jenin.
Al-Quds added Palestinians petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court against the expansion of Israeli settlement outposts on lands belonging to the Palestinian town of al-Khader in Bethlehem district.
It also reported Israeli troops purportedly found firearms and ammunition as they conducted overnight raids in Ezariya, east of Jerusalem, and seized water pumps and tanks in the northern Jordan Valley.
Al-Ayyam said Israeli bulldozers leveled a plot of land near the Palestinian village of Jaloud, south of Nablus, in order to expand the nearby settlement of Shevot Rahil.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, passed in the preliminary reading the so-called “Jerusalem the Capital of Israel” bill aimed to prevent any future divisions of the city.
K.F./M.K.
