Newspapers review: Quelling protest along northern Gaza’s border focus of dailies

The quelling of a protest by Israeli forces along the border in the northern Gaza Strip dominated the front page headlines in Palestinian dailies on Tuesday.

The dailies reported that 29 Palestinians were injured as Israeli forces quelled a massive protest near the Israeli-built marine barrier off the northern coast of Gaza.

Eleven protestors were reportedly injured with live bullets, four suffered suffocation, eight had shrapnel injuries and six others were hit by gas bombs.

On the other hand, al-Quds opted to highlighted US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt’s remarks on US President Donald Trump’s final solution of the Palestinians, dubbed deal of the century, a theme that was also covered in al-Ayyam.

Greenblatt was reported in al-Quds and al-Ayyam stating that the US peace plan will be “heavily focused on Israeli security needs”.

He was also reported in al-Quds noting: “But we also want to be fair to the Palestinians.”

Highlighting other Israeli attacks against Palestinians, al-Quds said that Israeli forces closed the metal gates installed at the entrances to Attil and Deir al-Ghusun, two towns to the northeast of Tulkarem.

It added that Israeli forces prevented Palestinians from constructing agricultural roads in Nahalin town, southwest of Bethlehem.

According to al-Quds and al-Ayyam, Israeli forces conducted detention raids and stormed the northern West Bank city of Nablus as they continued a massive manhunt for the Palestinian shooter who killed two Israeli settlers at their workplace in the Barkan industrial area.

As part of this manhunt, al-Hayat al-Jadida explained that Israeli forces raided the family home of Ashraf Naalwa, 23, who carried out the shooting attack, in Shweika village in the northern West Bank district of Tulkarem.

Additionally, al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida said that Israeli occupation authorities forced a Palestinian family to tear down their home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam added that Israeli police sealed the entrance to the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukabir with cement blocks.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida added that they detained a Palestinian woman and her brother from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.

Regarding  Israeli attacks against Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest, al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida printed photos for Israeli soldiers preventing farmers from harvesting their olives in Yatma and As-Sawiya towns, south of Nablus.

Al-Ayyam added that Israeli forces conducted drills in Khirbet al-Farisiya in the northern Jordan Valley.

Al-Quds spotlighted developments with regards to Egyptian medication efforts to achieve reconciliation.

It said that Egypt is awaiting response from Fatah and Hamas to the modified reconciliation proposals and arranging for a new round of talks to be held before the upcoming Palestinian Central Council’s meeting, scheduled on October 28.

Moreover, it reported communication officer at the European Union (EU) Shadi Othman stating that demanding Israel not to demolish Khan al-Ahmar was not an interference in Israeli affairs.

Othman made his remarks in response to Israeli 'Defence’ Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s statement calling on the EU to stop “flagrant interference” in Israel’s plans to demolish the Palestinian village, east of Jerusalem.

Furthermore, it reported UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krähenbühl stating that things are alright after international efforts to mobilize support for the UN relief agency.

The meeting of Jordan’s King Abdullah II with leader of Israeli Labor Party Avi Gabbay in Amman also hit the front page headlines in al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida.

Abdullah II was reported stressing the “need to revive the peace process based on the two-state solution”.

Yet, al-Ayyam reported the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Chief Federica Mogherini voicing concern that “the perspective of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine that continues to be dismantled piece by piece.”

Mogherini reportedly made these remarks during the third Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean.