RAMALLAH, February 18, 2018 (WAFA) – News about several Israeli airstrikes targeting multiple locations across the Gaza Strip made headlines of the front pages of the three Arabic Palestinian dailies on Sunday.
Al-Quds, al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said Israeli warplanes bombed multiple locations and agricultural land across the besieged Gaza Strip on Saturday evening, after Israeli forces claimed that an explosive device detonated in an Israeli military jeep near the border with Gaza in which four soldiers were injured.
The three dailies also said thousands of Palestinians participated in the funeral procession of two Palestinians whose bodies were handed over to their families after being withheld by Israel.
The bodies of Nemr al-Jamal, from Beit Surik near Jerusalem, and Hamza Zamareh, from Halhoul town near Hebron, were handed over to their families.
Nemr was shot dead on September 26 after he killed three Israeli soldiers near the village of Beit Surik. His family home was later demolished. Zamareh was shot dead by an Israeli guard outside an illegal settlement near Halhoul two weeks ago.
Following the two funerals, Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers in Halhoul, north of Hebron.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported a statement by Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat. He said that defeating extremism and terrorism requires the overthrow of the Israeli occupation.
Another statement by presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh was also reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida. Abu Rudeineh said President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday will give a vision for peace.
Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported a statement by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. He said that financial empowerment of the government, full control over the crossings, law enforcement, empowering the judiciary to carry out its duties and allowing the Palestinian Authority employees to return to their work places is what is required to achieve intra-Palestinian reconciliation and end the suffering of the people in Gaza.
Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said Deputy Imam of Al-Azhar Abbas Shoman said that the issue of Jerusalem will top the agendas and activities of al-Azhar throughout the year.
Al-Quds said that a bill is currently being discussed by the Local Committee of Reconstruction in the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem to approve 3,000 housing units in the illegal Israeli settlement of Gilo, near Jerusalem.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said Aryeh Deri, Israeli Minister of the Interior, approved a plan for the construction of a city for Israeli settlers near Qalqilya city in the occupied West Bank.
K.T./M.N./T.R.
