RAMALLAH, February 10, 2018 (WAFA) – Dozens of Palestinians were injured, many by live ammunition, in the 10th Friday of rage in the occupied Palestinian territories, the three Palestinian Arabic dailies said on the front page of their Saturday issue.
Palestinians confronted Israeli soldiers in several locations in the West Bank and on the Gaza borders. The Israeli army used live ammunition, in addition to rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas, to quell the demonstrations that raged to protest US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the killing of three Palestinians in Jenin during the last two weeks, including Ahmad Nasr Jarrar allegedly responsible for killing an Israeli settler near Nablus last month.
In East Jerusalem, al-Ayyam said residents of al-Issawiyeh protested Israeli measures against their neighborhood that included closures and restriction on movement. Israel is punishing the entire neighborhood bordering the Mount of Olives for its resistance of the occupation.
Al-Quds said that an Israeli ministerial committee is going to vote on Sunday on a law calling for annexing the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida quoted President Mahmoud Abbas telling Muslim religious leaders that there will not be a state without East Jerusalem as its capital.
In other news, the three dailies continued to highlight US policy toward the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Al-Ayyam said in a story for its correspondent in Jerusalem that the US team responsible for coming up with a peace plan attacked all those who oppose it, “beginning with President Abbas and ending with Haaretz newspaper.”
It said while Jason Greenblatt, the US envoy, attacked Abbas because of his position on Jerusalem, the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, attacked Haaretz because of its opposition to settlements.
It said in another report that US President Donald Trump has bragged in an interview with the right-wing Israeli newspaper, Israel Hayoum, that his recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel has removed one issue off the negotiating table.
It also said that 102 US congressmen have urged Trump to continue supporting the US agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which was also reported in the other two dailies.
Al-Ayyam quoted in a related story UNRWA officials warning that the international humanitarian organization is facing a crisis following the US cut in aid that amounted to $65 million.
Al-Quds said a senior Hamas delegation headed by Ismail Haniyeh left the Gaza Strip on Friday heading to Cairo. The reason for the visit was not clear.
The visit comes after Egypt opened the Rafah crossing with Gaza on Wednesday for three days, but was closed abruptly following a security activity in the Sinai.
It said Israel has allowed international aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.
It also said the Omani foreign minister is going to visit Palestine on Tuesday during which he is expected to meet President Mahmoud Abbas, who is going to be in Sochi, Russia on Monday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Al-Quds said 50,000 Muslim worshippers attended the Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
It said two people were killed in an armed clash in Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said ruins of an ancient cemetery that goes back to the Byzantine period were discovered west of Nablus in the West Bank.
M.K.
