RAMALLAH, July 21, 2017 (WAFA) – The spiraling tensions in East Jerusalem following the installation of metal detectors at the gates leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound dominated front page headlines in Friday’s Palestinian Arabic dailies.
Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported Israeli forces attacked Jerusalemite Palestinians who continued to perform prayers at St. Stephan’s Gate (Bab al-Asbat), which leads to the holy compound to express their rejection of the metal detectors.
Al-Ayyam said a total of 78 Palestinian worshippers were injured as a result of being attacked by Israeli forces.
The dailies added members of Islamic Waqf (Endowment) in charge of running the mosque compound called on Palestinians in East Jerusalem to close all mosques and head towards Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers.
The dailies added five more Israeli military battalions are set to be deployed in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday.
Al-Quds added Israeli forces set up many more checkpoints and roadblocks around Jerusalem and reported church leaders in Jerusalem expressed their solidarity with the mosque compound and appreciation of Jordan’s guardianship over the holy site.
It also reported the Palestinian government slamming Israeli measures in East Jerusalem as “adding fuel to the fire”.
Al-Quds also published an article titled Will the “Friday of Rage” deter Israel from procedding with its measures in Al-Aqsa Mosque ]compound[?
It added the Israeli measures have also resulted in an unprecedented trade stagnation in Jerusalem’s Old City.
It also reported Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee Saeb Erekat stating security would not come through the walls erected and cameras installed by Israel.
The dailies also spotlighted President Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to mobilize international support to help defuse the tense situation in the wake of the Israeli measures in East Jerusalem.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said Abbas contacted the US Administration and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, urging them to take immediate action to oblige Israel to back down from its measures in Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida added Abbas dispatched an official delegation to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to brief members of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on the deteriorating situation in Jerusalem and the mosque compound.
The dailies also reported Israeli forces killed a Palestinian young man from the village of Tuqu, east of Bethlehem, after he allegedly attempted to stab soldiers near the village.
The slain Palestinian was identified as 26-year-old Muhammad Tnouh.
Al-Ayyam added Israeli troops shot and injured five Palestinians during subsequent clashes. Al-Hayat al-Jadida noted that a Palestinian police officer and two journalists were among the injured.
The dailies also reported Israel has advanced a plan to build a new settlement that would cut off Ramallah from Jerusalem.
Al-Ayyam said Israeli forces detained a total of 28 Palestinians, mostly from East Jerusalem, during multiple overnight raids across the West Bank.
Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported China pledging to continue efforts to promote peace and stability in the Middle East.
K.F.
