Palestinians declare mass ‘strike’ to protest US peace conference

Palestinians are calling for mass protests against the upcoming Bahrain workshop in which the Trump administration will unveil the economic part of its long-awaited plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

By World Israel News Staff and AP

Fatah, the party of Palestinien President Mahmoud Abbas, announced Saturday that PLO factions called a general strike on June 25, when the Trump administration’s Mideast conference begins in Bahrain.

The protests in the Palestinian-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria are slated for one day before the mass strike. Within Palestinian society, the term “popular resistance” is frequently used as code for violent rioting and attacks on Israeli civilians. Whether violence will break out in Palestinian areas during the Bahrain-related protests remains to be seen.

While the Palestinians demanded that Arab countries boycott the meeting, claiming Trump’s plan may not produce a “two-state solution” with eastern portions of Jerusalem designated as a Palestinian capital, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco appear prepared to join the workshop in Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates previously signaled that they will attend the conference.

At the meeting, Washington is expected to present economic incentives as part of the broader plan.

The strike announced by the Palestinians follows an 18-month-long ongoing boycott of the White House during which Palestinian envoys have refused to meet with Trump officials or maintain traditional relations with the U.S.