RAMALLAH, February 7, 2018 (WAFA) – The killing of two Palestinians by Israeli forces in separate incidents hit the front page headlines in Palestinian dailies on Wednesday.

The dailies reported that Israeli forces killed Ahmad Nasr Jarrar, 23, during a wide-scale operation in al-Yamoun in the northern West Bank district of Jenin.

Al-Ayyam added that Israeli forces killed Jarrar, who they believe was behind the killing of a settler on 9 January, following a 21-day manhunt in search for him.

The dailies also reported that Israeli forces killed another Palestinian and injured scores others during a raid into the West Bank city of Nablus.

Forces reportedly stormed Nablus as part of a manhunt for an assailant who fatally stabbed an Israeli settler at the entrance of Ariel settlement on Monday. The alleged assailant is reportedly a Palestinian from Israel and reports indicated that his father is a resident of Nablus.

According to al-Quds, at least six Palestinians were critically injured during clashes with Israeli troops in Nablus. Al-Ayyam said that a total of 70 Palestinians were injured during the raid.

Moreover, al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported that Israeli forces delivered orders to demolish three Palestinian homes in al-Walajeh village, west of Bethlehem, and started the construction of a settler-only by-pass road on Palestinian lands belonging to Bethlehem-district town of al-Khader.

Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida highlighted the disastrous repercussions of the electricity crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Al-Quds reported in this regard that Palestinians observed a general strike in the besieged coastal enclave and halted the import of goods in protest against the economic collapse.

They also reported the United Nations (UN) warning that the electricity crisis has brought Gaza to the verge of disaster.

The statements of the European Union (EU) criticizing the demolition of donor-funded classrooms by Israeli occupation authorities in the Bedouin community of Abu Nuwar on the outskirts of Jerusalem also dominated the front page headlines in the dailies.

They reported the EU called on Israel to halt demolitions and confiscations of Palestinian houses and property and to cease the policy of settlement construction and expansion.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida added the EU called on Israel to rebuild the school structures in the same place in Abu Nuwar community.

The dailies also reported that the Palestinian cabinet has established a committee to prepare for disengagement from Israel at the political, administrative, economic and security levels.

Quoting a senior Western diplomatic source on the details of US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Deal of the Century”, al-Quds reported him saying that as part of the deal, Israel was willing to allow Jerusalem-district Palestinian neighborhoods to become part of the “Palestinian Jerusalem.”

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida spotlighted President Mahmoud Abbas’ statements during the inauguration of “Jerusalem the Capital of Islamic Youth 2018” event held in Ramallah.

Abbas was quoted stating: “No one is authorized to sign ]any deal[ on our behalf” and reiterating that the Palestinian people aspire to establish their independent and sovereign state along 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital.

He also reportedly denied media reports that he has refused to return to the negotiating table with Israel.

K.F./M.K.