Newspaper: Convicting Palestinian Boy for Attempted Murder, Hizma Checkpoint Blast

Convicting a 14-year-old Palestinian boy for attempted murder by an Israeli district court and Israeli forces’ detonation of an object at Hizam checkpoint hit the front page headlines in the dailies.

The three dailies reported that the Israeli district court in Jerusalem convicted Ahmad Manasra of two counts of attempted murder and possession of a knife for allegedly carrying out a stabbing attack in the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam reported that three Israeli soldiers were injured, including a serious injury, when an improvised explosive device detonated at the entrance of Hizma town.

The three dailies also reported that Israeli military imposed a total closure on the occupied Palestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza) on the occasion of Israel’s 'Independence Day’.

Al-Quds reported that Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian house in the Bethlehem village of al-Walaja and served demolition notices for tents near the Hebron town of Yatta.

Al-Quds and al-Ayyam highlighted Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders’ visit to Gaza.

Al-Quds reported Reynders as expressing his country’s willingness to host a Palestinian-Israel economic conference to support Gaza reconstruction.

Al-Ayyam reported Reynders visited the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, that was completely destroyed in 2014 Israeli onslaught on Gaza. It quoted him as saying Gaza reconstruction is “going at a slow pace”.

Al-Ayyam reported French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault as stating that his country upholds the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that Israel has refused to renew the travel documents of Omar Barghouthi, a co-founder for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

It is worth noting that Barghouthi, who lives with his family in the Israeli city of Acre, is of Palestinian descent, but born in the Gulf state of Qatar. After marrying his wife, a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship, he was afforded permanent residency in Israel for the past 23 years.

Source: WAFA