The popular ‘Day of Rage’ against Israel’s plan to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank is ‘a step in the right direction,’ says a senior official of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
In a press statement on Monday, Wasfi Qabha called for a unified strategy agreed by all Palestinian groups and factions and organizations to confront Tel Aviv’s annexation plan, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has time and again announced that he would begin cabinet-level discussions for annexing more areas in the West Bank on July 1, in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century.”
Trump’s scheme, unveiled in January, largely gives in to Israel’s demands while creating a Palestinian state with limited control over its own security and borders, enshrining the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s “capital” and allowing the regime to annex settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.
According to the so-called peace plan, the future Palestinian state will consist of scattered lands linked together via bridges and tunnels.
On Wednesday, July 1, the day Netanyahu attempts to begin the process of implementing his plan, anti-annexation protests are set to be staged in the West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.
During the ‘Day of Rage,’ similar protests are also scheduled to be held beyond the occupied territories, in the United States and Europe. Demonstrations will be held in Chicago, San Diego, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Other cities in Europe will also witness similar protests, including Toronto, Madrid, and Valencia.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Qabha said the extreme dangers posed by Israel’s plan require everyone to put all inter-Palestinian differences aside, fold the page of division and work together in a unified front to restore the confidence of the Palestinian masses and face the challenges.
During a national meeting in Gaza on Sunday, the Palestinian factions called on all Palestinians to take part in the ‘Day of Rage’ rallies on Wednesday.
The United Nations and the European Union, among others, have already denounced Israel’s plan and warned against its consequences.
On May 19, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Palestinian Authority, declared the end of all agreements signed with Tel Aviv and Washington. He says Trump’s scheme “belongs to the dustbin of history.”