THOUSANDS PARTICIPATE IN PALESTINIAN ‘DAY OF RAGE’ AGAINST US, ISRAEL

Article Source:  Jerusalem Post

Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Tuesday in protests against the US administration and Israel. Scores of Palestinians were injured, mostly from tear gas inhalation and rubber bullets, during clashes with IDF soldiers in several parts of the West Bank, Palestinian sources said.

Organized by several Palestinian factions, including the ruling Fatah faction, the protests came in the aftermath of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent announcement that settlements are not inconsistent with international law. On Sunday, the factions declared Tuesday a “Day of Rage” and urged Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to continue their protests in the coming days. The factions said that more “days of rage” are planned in the coming days. The Palestinian Authority Education Ministry closed schools for one hour to allow students to participate in the “Day of Rage.”At some rallies, protesters burned effigies of Pompeo, US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh, deputy chairman of Fatah Mahmoud Aloul and several senior Palestinian officials participated in a protest in the center of Ramallah, where demonstrators chanted slogans against the US administration and Israel.

Addressing the protesters, Shtayyeh held Israel responsible for the death of Palestinian prisoner Sami Abu Diyak, who died of cancer on Tuesday. Abu Diyak, who was arrested in 2002 for his involvement in terrorism, was given three life sentences and an additional 30 years. Shtayyeh called on the International Committee of the Red Cross and human rights organizations to work toward securing the release of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, particularly those who are suffering from diseases. The PA president’s office also held Israel responsible for the death of Abu Diyak and claimed he did not receive proper medical treatment in prison. PA President Mahmoud Abbas phoned Abu Diyak’s father to offer condolences over the death of the inmate. The PLO also commented on the death of the prisoner, dubbing it a “new Israeli crime.”Shtayyeh said that Tuesday’s “Day of Rage” is aimed at expressing Palestinians’ “rejection of Israeli occupation” and the policies of the Trump administration. Referring to Pompeo’s announcement, the PA premier said that the US has “isolated itself by taking this illegal decision against our people and land.” The Palestinians have decided to refer Pompeo’s announcement to the International Criminal Court, Shtayyeh added. Aloul, the senior Fatah official, called on Palestinians to step up “popular resistance against Israeli occupation.”Israel, he said, has left the Palestinians with no choice other than “popular resistance.” Referring to the death of Abu Diyak in an Israeli prison, Aloul said that the inmate “sacrificed his life and freedom for the sake of his people and homeland.”Aloul accused Israel of committing “crimes” against the Palestinians and boasted that the Palestinians have managed to thwart Trump’s yet-to-be-announced Mideast peace plan, also known as the “Deal of the Century.”As he was speaking, the protesters played a Fatah song that says: “I’m coming towards you, my enemy, with cleavers and knives, I’m coming after you, from every house, neighborhood, and street.” PLO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE member Wasel Abu Yusef accused the Trump administration of “facilitating Israeli crimes and aggression” against the Palestinians. He accused Israel of “stepping up its crimes after receiving a green light from the Trump administration.” The Palestinians, he vowed, will not allow the announcement on the legality of the settlements to pass and will continue their protests to foil it. Similar protests took place in Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus, Tulkarm, Jenin, Jericho, and Kalkilya.In Hebron, protesters carried placards denouncing Trump and Israel. One protester carried a handwritten poster that read: “The Palestinian people are lions, the Zionists are rats.”In Bethlehem, protesters marched on the streets carrying a poster reading: “Palestine, from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea. Palestine is ours – Jerusalem is our capital.”The PA governor of Nablus, Ibrahim Ramadan, said during a rally in the city that “popular resistance is the real response to the unjust policies of the US administration against the Palestinian people and to Israeli crimes.”Senior Fatah official Abbas Zaki, who attended the rally, said that Tuesday “marks the beginning of a new era and rage.” He too accused the Trump administration of giving Israel “a green light to destroy the two-state solution.” Zaki added: “Israel thinks that it is capable of defeating our people by committing crimes against them. But our people will not be defeated.”Zaki called on the PA leadership to revoke Palestinian recognition of Israel and cut off all ties with it. “It’s not an honor to have relations with a terrorist state,” he said. “Israel is not a state. It’s a group of gangs.”In Gaza City, hundreds of Palestinians staged a protest outside the offices of the United Nations. The protesters strongly condemned the Trump administration for ruling that settlements are not inconsistent with international law. They also protested against the death of Abu Diyak.