RAMALLAH, Tuesday, March 12, 2019 (WAFA) – The death of two Palestinians from Israeli gunfire during the weekly Great March of Return protests in the besieged Gaza Strip dominated the front page headlines in Tuesday’s issue of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.

Al-Quds reported that two Palestinian young men succumbed to their wounds they had sustained from Israeli gunfire in the eastern Gaza Strip.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida identified one of two young men as Bassam Sami Safi, 22, who succumbed to his wounds he sustained from Israeli gunfire east of Khan Younes in the southern Gaza Strip.

Safi was hit with a tear gas bomb about two weeks ago, which resulted in critical wounds and finally caused his death.

The other slain Palestinian was identified as Musa Mohammad Musa, 23, who died of his wounds he had sustained from Israeli gunfire on March 1.

On the other hand, al-Quds opted to highlight the signing of a plan to construct tens of thousands of new Israeli settler units in Jerusalem in its main news item.

It explained that an agreement was signed in the framework of the construction of 23,000 new settler units in Jerusalem in the presence of Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu

Additionally, al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that Israeli occupation authorities has allowed a Palestinian family until the end of March to evict their property in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan and hand it over to a Jewish settler group.

Spotlighting the situation at flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the dailies said that dozens of Israeli Jewish settlers forced their way into the holy site under police escort. Al-Quds said a total of 119 settlers stormed the holy site.

Al-Quds added that Israeli police detained a Waqf-appointed employee and banned another entry to the holy site.

According to al-Ayyam, the Council of Jerusalem Muslim Religious Endowments (Waqf) and Affairs denies media reports that the Jordanian government has reached new understandings with Israel over Bab al-Rahma prayer area.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that a number of Palestinians were injured from Israeli gunfire in the East Jerusalem refugee camp of Shufat, the Ramallah-districts villages of Kobar and Nabi Saleh and Hebron.

Al-Ayyam said that Israeli forces delivered stop-construction and demolition orders for five Palestinians in Hares village, west of Salfit.

Al-Quds reported Finance Minister Shutry Bshara calling on Norway to support the Palestinian Authority’s arbitration steps against Israel following withholding the Palestinian tax revenues.

According to al-Ayyam, Israeli occupation authorities released the body of Salameh Saleh Kaabneh, who was recently killed by Israeli forces near the West Bank city of Jericho.

Kaabneh, 22, a resident of Fasayel, was killed while attempting to pass an Israeli checkpoint on road 90 near Jericho.

Al-Quds reported the Qatari Gaza Reconstruction Committee announcing that Qatar is disbursing the fourth payment of cash assistance to poor families in Gaza.

It also reported that the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Nickolay Mladenov made a field tour in the besieged coastal enclave.

Moreover, Netanyahu’s remarks describing allowing Qatari funds into Gaza as “part of a broader strategy to keep Hamas and the Palestinian Authority separate” also hit the front page headlines in al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida.

Al-Ayyam reported Netanyahu explaining that Israel is allowing Qatari funds to be transferred into Gaza as part of a strategy to maintain the intra-Palestinian division.

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh was reported in al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida stating that Netanyahu’s remarks reveal how big is US President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan, dubbed the deal of the century.

Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Hamas security forces cracked down on activists protesting harsh economic conditions in Gaza.

According to al-Hayat al-Jadida, Palestinian national factions underscore the importance of supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Regionally, the dailies said that Algeria’s Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced that he will not be running for a fifth term as president and would postpone the country’s presidential elections, originally scheduled for April 18.

K.F.