RAMALLAH, April 27, 2018 (WAFA) – Torrential downpours that caused flash flooding and the funeral procession of a journalist who succumbed to his wounds after being shot by Israeli forces in Gaza hit the front page headlines in Palestinian Arabic dailies on Friday.

Al-Quds reported that the “Spring Storm” struck Palestine, bringing torrential downpours and causing floods.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam added that the flash floods hit a group of Israeli teenage hikers south of the Dead Sea, seeping away and killing nine.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida added that heavy downpours blocked roads and flooded homes and structures in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida added that the downpour caused parts of Israel’s apartheid wall in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shufat to collapse.

Moreover, al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that thousands of Palestinian attended the funeral procession of Ahmad Abu Hussein in the northern besieged Gaza Strip.

Abu Hussein succumbed to his fatal wounds after being shot by Israeli snipers with an expanding “dum-dum” bullet while covering the mass protests near Gaza’s eastern border on April 6.

He was wearing a protective helmet marked “TV” and a flak jacket marked with the word “PRESS” when he was shot.

The dailies also spotlighted the funeral procession of Fadi al-Batsh in the northern Gaza Strip and al-Quds printed a photo showing Hamas-affiliated security sources carrying the coffin of al-Batsh at Rafah border crossing.

Al-Batsh was a Palestinian scientist apparently assassinated by Israeli agents in Malaysia on April 21.  

Highlighting a New York Times’ report titled Behind a Roadside Hit in Malaysia, Israeli-Palestinian Intrigue, al-Quds said, quoting the report, that “the killing was part of a broader operation ordered by the Mossad chief to dismantle a Hamas project . . .”.

Furthermore, the dailies reported that Israeli forces blocked the main entrance of the Khadouri Technical University in al-Arroub, north of Hebron, preventing students and staff from entering.

The dailies added that Israeli occupation authorities prevented carrying out restoration works inside East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Al-Quds added that police detained a Waqf-appointed staff and installed surveillance cameras in Silwan, while al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that scores of settlers forced their way into the holy site.

Al-Quds also reported that Israeli forces raided Bethlehem-district Duheisha refugee camp and Qalqiliya city.

Highlighting an update by the Palestinian Health Ministry, al-Quds reported that Israeli forces have killed 40 Palestinians and injured over 5,000 others since the start of the Great March of Return protests in Gaza on March 30.

Al-Ayyam reported that Israeli snipers shot and injured five Palestinians while partaking in the Great March of Return protests along the eastern border of Gaza.

According to al-Hayat al-Jadida, Israeli troops opened fire at a vehicle at the entrance of Halhoul, north of Hebron, injuring two Palestinians.

Foreign Minister Riyad Malki was reported in the dailies stating that Czech and Romania would not relocate their embassies to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Al-Quds reported that US ambassador to Israel David Friedman and US envoy Jason Greenblatt were exerting pressures on the US State Department to use the term “Judea and Samaria” in reference to the West Bank.

The dailies highlighted Israeli ‘Defence’ Minister Avidgor Lieberman’s comments in an interview with the Saudi-owned Elaph news website.

Presidential Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh was reported in al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida stating that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was fighting a perpetual battle to maintain the independent national decision.

Besides that, al-Ayyam reported Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov warning that “Gaza is about to explode” and slamming Israeli settlement construction as illegal.

Palestine’s permanent representative to the United Nations Riyad Masnour was reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida calling on the international community to exert pressure on Israel to respect law and be deterred from killing Palestinians.

It republished a Deutsche Presse-Agentur’s (DPA) feature showing that the legs of Gaza youth protestors had to be amputated as a result of suffering devastating injuries after being shot by Israeli snipers.

 K.F.