RAMALLAH, July 23, 2018 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers’ en masse intrusion into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound dominated the front page headlines in Palestinian dailies on Monday.
Al-Quds reported that a total of 1,336 settlers forced their way into Al-Aqsa marking the so-called destruction of the temple.
It described this intrusion as the largest since the time former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon forced his way into the holy site in September 2000.
It also reported General Director of the Islamic Waqf Department Azzam al-Khatib describing the intrusion as “an unprecedented assault aimed at altering the legal and historic status of the Mosque and infringing upon Jordan’s custodianship over it.
Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that settlers stormed the holy site as Israeli police deployed heavily in Jerusalem’s Old City.
According to the dailies, Jordan strongly protested the intrusions to Israel.
Highlighting the situation in Gaza, the dailies said that an Israeli drone fired a missile at a group of Palestinians, east of Jabalia in the northern besieged coastal enclave, injuring two.
Additionally, the dailies reported Israeli ‘Defense’ Minister Avigdor Lieberman saying that Israel would reopen Gaza’s sole commercial crossing if “calm” is maintained.
Moreover, the dailies reported the Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory Jamie McGoldrick warning: “Essential services on the verge of shutdown in Gaza as emergency fuel set to run out.”
Spotlighting efforts to end the intra-Palestinian division, al-Quds reported that Fatah has disclosed its observations on the Egyptian initiative in this respect.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam added that chief of Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh received a phone call from chief of Egyptian Intelligence Abbas Kamel.
Moreover, al-Quds reported that Israeli settlers continued to storm Susiya village in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, where they performed religious rituals.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam added that Israeli forces forced Palestinian storekeepers to close their stores in Hebron to facilitate settlers’ intrusion into an archeological site.
Regionally, al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported that two Palestinians from Khan Younis were found dead in an apartment in Algeria.
Commenting on the circumstances surrounding their death, Palestinian ambassador to Algeria Loai Issa was reported in al-Hayat al-Jadida saying that preliminary evidence indicates that they died as a result of gas inhalation.
Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said President Mahmoud Abbas paid a visit to the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) in Ramallah.
K.F./M.K.
