‘Day of Rage’ declared by Palestinians against US reversal on settlements

“Palestine Liberation Organization-affiliated factions called for a day of rage on Tuesday in all governorates in protest against the recent U.S. announcement,” said WAFA.

By World Israel News Staff 

Palestinian groups are calling for a “Day of Rage” to protest the Trump administration’s declaration revoking the American position that Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria are illegal.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced last week that the government was rescinding a 1978 State Department opinion called the Hansell Memorandum, which stated that civilian settlements in Judea and Samaria are “inconsistent with international law.”

“Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)-affiliated factions called for a day of rage on Tuesday in all governorates in protest against the recent U.S. announcement,” reported the Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA.

It noted that “in separate interviews with the official Voice of Palestine radio, faction spokespersons called on Palestinians to participate in the protests, rejecting U.S.-Israeli plots against the Palestinian cause.”

In its reporting, WAFA also states that the existence of these Israeli communities, located in territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war, “totally contradicts… United Nations resolutions on settlements, specifically Security Council Resolution 2334 of 2016.”

Resolution 2334 was passed during the final weeks of the second Obama Administration when Washington refused to exercise its veto power on the Security Council.

The resolution states that Israel’s settlement activity constitutes a “flagrant violation” of international law and has “no legal validity.” It also demands that Israel stop such activity.

“Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace,” Pompeo announced last week. “The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace.”

“Since the [Pompeo] announcement, many officials from Palestine, Middle East, and the world expressed their complete condemnation and rejection of it, saying the decision is a ‘threat to international system,’ while some thought it undermines achieving a last and just peace in the region,” writes WAFA.

“Once the announcement was made public, the Palestinian presidency called on world governments to reject it and condemn it,” says the Palestinian Authority news agency.

Days of rage are a fairly common reaction to protest moves considered to damage Palestinian interests. Events on these days have included protests which have turned violent.