RAMALLAH, August 2, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli Jews’ provocative tours of East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to observe a Jewish holiday dominated the front page headlines in the Palestinian Arabic dailies on Wednesday.

Al-Quds reported a total of 1,300 extremist Jews forced their way into the mosque compound to mark what they believe was the destruction of both temples that they claim stood in the mosque compound.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said a total of 1,079 Israeli Jewish settlers stormed the mosque compound.

The dailies added right-wing settler groups also provocatively marched in Jerusalem’s Old City and assaulted Palestinians and their property.

Al-Ayyam reported the Islamic Endowment (Waqf) Department condemning the intrusion as “unprecedented lawlessness.”

Condemning Israeli restrictive measures in East Jerusalem, al-Quds reported Foreign Ministry stating Israeli occupation authorities were punishing Palestinians with the mentality of “price tag” attacks.

Furthermore, al-Quds and al-Ayyam said President Mahmoud Abbas and a Hamas delegation discussed the means to end the intra-Palestinian division during a meeting in Ramallah.

Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported the cabinet reiterating that defending Jerusalem was the task of the Arab and Islamic countries.

It also reported the cabinet threatening that should Israel withhold the tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA), it would file a lawsuit against Israel in international tribunals.

Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah was reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida announcing an imminent partial reshuffle of the cabinet involving five ministries and revealing that some states were exerting political pressures on the PA and threatening to halt funding.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported the Israeli Jerusalem District Court issued a ruling approving Israeli Jewish settlers’ “purchase” of three landmark buildings from the Greek Orthodox Church in East Jerusalem.

It also reported the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company warning that electricity deficit in the besieged Gaza Strip has dropped to record levels.

It also reported the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warning that 95 percent of Palestinian refugees in Syria were in need of aid.

It said a number of Palestinians who assaulted medical staff in the Jenin-based hospital of al-Razi and Hebron public hospital were arrested.

It covered a report published by the Beirut-based Zaytouna Center for Studies and Consultations on the future Hamas-Egypt relationship in light of recent understandings and its implications for the Palestinian landscape.

Al-Quds highlighted the results of an opinion poll that was jointly conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) and the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research (TSC) in Tel Aviv University.

It said the opinion poll shows that the support for the two-state solution rises among Palestinians, but declines among Israeli Jews. It also shows low trust of the other side and that the majority of Palestinian public describes the situation as bad.

Al-Ayyam said Israeli settlers set up four caravans on Palestinian-owned land near al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, in defiance of an Israeli court ruling.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida added the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) rejected any Israeli infringement on the Palestinian right to full sovereignty over East Jerusalem.

Al-Ayyam reported Palestine and Morocco were exerting pressures to cancel the upcoming Africa-Israel summit in Togo.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida said Israeli occupation authorities issued administrative detention orders against 47 Palestinians, including a lawmaker, and maintained the policy of medical negligence against Palestinian prisoners.

It also reported Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat stating absence of action by the US administration to oblige Israel to stop settlement construction and accept the two-state solution was an obstacle to launching the peace process.

K.F./M.K.