RAMALLAH– The Israeli army killing yesterday of 17-year-old Hamza Ashqar in the New Askar refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Nablus and the rescue operations in Turkey and Syria following the devastating tremor that hit the area were highlighted on the front page of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies published today.
The dailies said Ashqar was shot and killed during clashes with Israeli soldiers after raiding the camp. He was shot in the face.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida daily said that in addition to the killing of Ashqar, the Israeli army rounded up 27 Palestinians in raids across the occupied territories.
While one Palestinian daily said more than 7,000 people were killed from the earthquake that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria two days ago, another one said the number was 8,000 as thousands more were displaced in light of the heavy destruction caused to buildings.
Al-Quds daily said 62 Palestinians were among the victims of the quake as international aid began to pour into Turkey, adding that a light 3.7 magnitude earthquake centered north of Nablus affected Palestine last night.
As a result of the bad weather in Palestine, al-Quds said schools were called off today and work was delayed by one hour at government institutions.
It also said Israel is preparing to build settlement tourism projects that overlook the Dead Sea, while the Israeli High Court gave the government until May 1 to decide on evacuating and demolishing Khan al-Ahmar community located east of Jerusalem.
Al-Ayyam daily said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken proposed to President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu to “temporally stop” unilateral measures.
It said the head of the CIA, William Burns, has warned that the rise in violence in the occupied Palestinian territories could lead to a third Intifada (uprising).
It also said Cairo does not intend to start a new round of dialogue with the Palestinian factions, while al-Quds said Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is expected in Cairo today to discuss the Palestinian situation.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida said in a report from AFP that the Palestinian Sally Azar is the first woman Lutheran priest in the Holy Land.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency