RAMALLAH, News about the funerals of the Palestinians who were shot dead by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip on Friday hit the headlines of the three Arabic Palestinian dailies on Sunday.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida, al-Ayyam and al-Quds said that thousands of people participated in the funerals of 14 of the 15 Palestinians killed by Israeli sniper fire, each in their place of residence starting from Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip to Beit Hanoun in the north.
Israeli soldiers opened fire at Palestinians who on Friday rallied peacefully near the border fence with Israel marking Land Day and calling for the right of return for refugees to their homes and lands in historic Palestine. 15 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,400 others injured at the end.
The dailies said that Palestinians observed a general strike in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on Saturday heeding a call for the strike by the nationalist and Islamic forces as they also observed a day of mourning for the 15 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.
The newspapers reported that the UN Security Council failed to release a joint statement to condemn the massacre in Gaza, as the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation into the Gaza massacre.
Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported a statement by Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas. He said that the US objections at the United Nations Security Council, which obstructed condemnation of Israeli murder of 15 Palestinians and injury of hundreds others in Gaza on Friday, constitute a cover for Israel to continue its aggression against the Palestinian people and encourages it to defy UN resolutions aimed at ending its occupation.
Al-Quds and al-Ayyam said that more Arab, Islamic and international reactions are condemning the massacre in Gaza.
The papers also said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Israeli army who perpetrated the massacre in Gaza.
Al-Ayyam said that Palestinian and Israeli rights groups have called for an investigation into the Gaza massacre.
It also said that Israeli police cracked down a march in solidarity with Gaza in occupied Jerusalem.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency
