Day of Rage: Palestinians show hatred of Netanyahu, Trump

Demonstrators held signs reading: “Trump to impeachment, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to jail.”

By AP and World Israel News Staff

Thousands of Palestinian protesters took part in a “day of rage” across Judea and Samaria on Tuesday, with some groups clashing with Israeli forces to protest the U.S. announcement that it no longer believes Israeli communities there violate international law.

Around 2,000 people gathered in the self-rule Palestinian Authority (PA) headquarters of Ramallah by midday, where they set ablaze posters of President Donald Trump as well as Israeli and American flags. Schools, universities and government offices were closed and rallies were being held in other PA cities.

Demonstrators held signs reading: “Trump to impeachment, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to jail.”

At Israeli checkpoints near Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron, dozens of protesters threw stones at Israeli forces who responded with tear gas. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Organized by the Fatah, the main group in the Palestine Liberation Organization,Tuesday’s “day of rage” protested the Trump administration’s announcement on Israeli communities last week.

“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 on Monday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that the U.S. was rejecting the 1978 State Department legal opinion. The decision reversed four decades of American policy.

“Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace,” Pompeo announced. “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.”

Israeli leaders welcomed the U.S. decision.