RAMALLAH, Thursday, November 08, 2018 (WAFA) – Israel’s approval of the construction of hundreds of new Jewish settler units and the demolition of a Palestinian residential building in an East Jerusalem neighborhood hit the front page headlines in Palestinian Arabic dailies on Thursday.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported that Israeli occupation authorities approved the construction of 640 new settler units on Palestinian lands belonging to the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shu fat.

Al-Quds added that Ateret Cohanim, an Israeli settler group, has been exerting intensive efforts to Judaize Jerusalem and create a Jewish majority there.

The dailies also reported that Israeli bulldozers demolished a Palestinian residential building in Ras Shehada neighborhood in East Jerusalem’s Shu fat refugee camp.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida explained that the four-story residential building included 12 apartments.

According to al-Quds, Qatar would provide $5 million in aid for 50,000 poor families in the besieged Gaza Strip as each family would get $100.

Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida also reported that a Palestinian young man succumbed to his wounds he had sustained from Israeli gunfire east of Khan Younis two weeks ago. Ahmad Khaled Najjar, 21, was reportedly pronounced dead in al-Ahli Hospital in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam added that a Palestinian fisherman was killed by the Egyptian navy while sailing in the Rafah coast, south of the Gaza Strip. He was identified as Mustafa Abu Odeh, 32, from Shati refugee camp.

Highlighting other Israeli attacks against Palestinians, al-Ayyam said that a number of Palestinians were injured as hundreds of Israeli Jewish settlers stormed Joseph’s Tomb and Urif school in the northern West Bank district of Nablus.

According to al-Hayat al-Jadida, a total of 25 Palestinians were injured as settlers forced their way to the two sites.

Al-Ayyam said that Israeli forces failed to locate Ashraf Na‘alweh after surrounding his family home in the northern West Bank village of Shweika in Tulkarem district.

Na‘alweh, 23, is the main suspect in the killing of two Israeli settlers at their workplace in the illegal settlement of Barkan on October 7.

Moreover, al-Quds reported that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) commended Syria’s recent decision to allow Palestinian refugees to return to the Yarmuk camp in southern Damascus.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida spotlighted the progress in the clearances of debris from the refugee camp.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida added that the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) welcomed Damascus’ intention to allow refugees’ return to the camp.

Al-Quds said Jordan’s King Abdullah II met representatives of Palestinian refugee camps and stressed ongoing support to Palestine.

It also reported Palestinian factions announcing the Palestinian refugee camp of Mieh Mieh in southern Lebanon is set for normalcy after deal.

On the international arena, al-Quds reported Foreign Minister Riyad Malki stating that the Palestinian leadership was striving to prevent Brazil from relocating its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Regarding the same issue, al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida highlighted the “close ties” and “complex political-religious ties” between Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Finally, al-Hayat al-Jadida reported Health Minister Jawad Awwad stating that the government has managed to prevent collapse of health institutions in Gaza and continues to dispatch medication shipments to the besieged coastal enclave.

The papers also highlighted the victory of Rashida Tlaib to be the first Palestinian-American to gain a seat at the US Congress.

K.F./M.K.