Fatah calls for ‘angry’ protests during Pence’s visit

CAIRO – 18 December 2017: Palestine’s largest faction, Fatah, called for “angry” protests during U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Jerusalem next Wednesday.

In a statement on Saturday, Fatah party called for the protests at the entrances to Jerusalem and its Old City section, in rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The party also called on Palestinians to shut Israeli-built bypass roads on Monday and Thursday, and declared Friday a “day of rage.”

Fatah is a Palestinian nationalist political party led by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and is known for its history of involvement in revolutionary struggle.
Israeli troops shot dead 4 Palestinians and wounded 150 others with live fire on Friday, medical officials said, as protests over Trump’s decision entered a second week.

Speaking to the Voice of Palestine radio on December 9, Abbas’ advisor for Diplomatic Affairs, Majdi al Khaldi, noted that a meeting with Pence will not be held because the U.S. decision regarding Jerusalem went beyond the accepted and internationally recognized borders.

Ismail Haniyeh, political chief of Hamas, one of the main Palestinian factions, had promised earlier to frustrate Trump’s decision over Jerusalem, saying, “there is nothing called the state of Israel to have a capital called Jerusalem.”