Palestinians planning ‘popular uprising’ against Trump’s plan

The protests, scheduled for June 25 and 26, will coincide with the launching of the US-led economic workshop in Bahrain.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Palestinian refugees hold Palestinian flags and chant slogans during a protest in front of UNRWA office in Amman, September 2, 2018. (photo credit: MUHAMMAD HAMED / REUTERS)
Palestinian refugees hold Palestinian flags and chant slogans during a protest in front of UNRWA office in Amman, September 2, 2018.
(photo credit: MUHAMMAD HAMED / REUTERS)
The Palestinians said on Sunday that they are planning a “popular uprising” later this month to protest US President Donald Trump’s upcoming plan for peace in the Middle East.
The protests, scheduled for June 25 and 26, will coincide with the launching of the US-led economic workshop in Bahrain – where the US administration plans to unveil the economic portion of its long-awaited plan.
The Palestinian Authority leadership has called on Palestinians and Arabs to boycott the Bahrain conference.
Representatives of PLO factions, Palestinian civil society organizations and independent Palestinian personalities called on all Palestinians to participate in the protests against Trump’s peace plan and the Bahrain conference.
They issued the call after a meeting in el-Bireh, the twin city of Ramallah.
Wasel Abu Yusef, member of the PLO Executive Committee, said that Sunday’s meeting was the first in a series of gatherings to arrange “popular activities to confront American-Israeli schemes aimed at eliminating the rights of the Palestinian people.”
The Palestinians, he said, need to engage in “struggling action to foil the ‘Deal of the Century’ and its economic aspect, and voice their rejection of all American policies.”
Abu Yusef pointed out that the Palestinians were in agreement about boycotting the Bahrain workshop and urging Arabs to follow suit, “because the rights of the Palestinian people can’t be traded for money.”
The planned protests will take place at “friction points” and not inside Palestinian cities, he added, implying that Palestinians should protest at IDF checkpoints.
The protests will be coordinated with Arab-Israeli leaders and Palestinians living in refugee camps and communities around the world, the PLO official said.
Tayseer Khaled, another senior PLO official, said it was time for the Palestinians to “change the rules of engagement with the policy of the US administration and the Israeli government.”
Khaled called for a “comprehensive national revolt” against Israel.
“The political options the Palestinians are facing have become clearer than ever,” he added. “The big changes in the policy of the US administration and its unprecedented and unlimited support for Israel’s hostile settlement policy and absolute denial of the national rights of the Palestinian people, require us to change the rules of engagement with the policies of the US administration and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.”