RAMALLAH, Wednesday, February 19, 2020 (WAFA) – The Israeli plan to build thousands of new colonial settlement units on the former Qalandia airport near the Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqab dominated the front page headlines in the dailies.
The dailies reported that Israeli occupation authorities have prepared a master plan to build 9,000 new colonial settler units on the former Qalandia airport to the north of Jerusalem.
Al-Quds quoted observers saying in this regard that this project is second largest settlement construction project following the Maale Adumim settlement, which would undermine the prospects for the creation of the Palestinian state.
Al-Ayyam added in this regard that this huge settlement project is intended to consolidate the separation of Jerusalem from the West Bank.
Focusing on Jerusalem, al-Ayyam said that Israeli occupation authorities approve a plan to build a light rail station near al-Buraq Square, also known as the Western Wall Plaza.
Al-Quds said that 81 Israeli Jewish extremists and US congressmen, led by former Israeli lawmaker Yehuda Glick, chanted prayers opposite to the Dome of the Rock inside flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
It added that Israeli police detained head of the Waqf’s Reconstruction Department Bassam Hallaq besides to a staff member.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that a Palestinian was forced to demolish his own house in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal Mukabbir.
Furthermore, the dailies said that dozens of Palestinians suffocated from tear gas and other sustained injuries as Israeli forces cracked down on a rally protesting the recently-revealed US ‘peace plan’, dubbed “deal of the century”.
Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Israeli forces harassed Palestinians and surrounded a school in Deir Nidham village, northwest of Ramallah.
The dailies said that Israeli bulldozers leveled large tract of Palestinian land belonging to the villagers of Jalud village, south of Nablus.
They said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to face corruption trial on March 17.
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn was reported in al-Quds and al-Ayyam stating that Europe would only accept a peace plan that is in line with the international parameters.
Al-Quds printed a report spotlighting Israeli plot to assassinate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and deputy leader of Hamas’ military wing Marwan Issa.
The report is titled Has Israel aspired to assassinate Sinwar and Issa before elections?
It said that Minnesota Representative Betty McCollum slammed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as a hate group.
Highlighting the findings of an opinion poll conducted by Al-Aqsa University’s Center for Studies and Measurement of Public Opinion, al-Quds said that 96.3 percent of Palestinians believe intra-Palestinian reconciliation as the stronger way to tackle the US ‘peace plan’.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Israeli forces carried out multiple raids across the West Bank, rounding up 12 Palestinians.
It said that Amnesty International welcomes the International Criminal Court’s announcement on investigating Israeli war crimes.
It also reported the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy announcing that it would take legal action against the American e-commerce company Amazon.
Secretary-General of the PLO’s Executive Committee Saeb Erekat was reported in al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida calling on international companies from Europe, the US and Thailand to immediately stop operating in Israeli colonial settlements.
Both dailies reported that scores of Palestinian students were lightly and moderately injured when a central heating generator exploded in Hebron University.
Al-Ayyam printed a report titled Malek Issa: a Palestinian boy who lost sight after being shot by Israeli police.
K.F.
