Arabic press review: Israeli forces arrest and beat man with Down's syndrome

Israeli forces arrest and beat man with Down’s syndrome  

Mohamed al-Taweel, 29, a Palestinian with Down's syndrome, was arrested by the “occupation forces” in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Sunday and beaten at an Israeli interrogation centre before he was released, according to the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper.

The newspaper quoted Taweel as saying that he was standing in front of a shop in the centre of Hebron city when he was suddenly arrested. He was held there for an hour before being taken to the Israeli detention centre in the Old City.  He said: "They beat me there and then released me.”

Istanbul summit: Much ado about nothing

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Istanbul was unfortunately nothing more than a comedy in which made-up stories, coupled with heightened emotions, are already well known to the public, according to Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

The play’s characters, it continued, are equally well known, with their zealous yet fake speeches and actions.

Even the play’s conclusion is well known, the paper, which devoted a number of its pages to criticising the outcomes of the summit, added.

According to the newspaper, "the representatives of 48 countries, including 16 presidents, kings, emirs and a prime minister, are not courageous enough, even as a congregated group, to challenge and threaten Israel".

The newspaper concluded that "the Palestinian people are standing alone and left to their own fate. However, this is but a single instance of the endless incidents where Palestinians find themselves compelled to face the curses of history".

Turkish grant to support Palestinians

Turkey is providing a $10m grant to support the Palestinian people, according to the news site Arabi21.

The new grant is directed at social and economic development as well as meeting more urgent needs, and the development of budgetary and institutional capacity, according to the site. It will prioritise the Gaza Strip, it added.