Palestinians announce ‘popular uprising’ against Trump peace plan

(June 10, 2019 / JNS) A “popular Palestinian uprising” against U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace plan was announced on Sunday following a meeting of PLO faction representatives, Palestinian civil society organizations and private individuals in the West Bank city of el-Bireh.
 
The protests are to coincide with the U.S.-sponsored June 25-26 “Peace to Prosperity” conference in Bahrain, where the United States is expected to reveal the first, economic stage of Trump’s peace plan.
 
According to The Jerusalem Post, PLO executive committee member Wasel Abu Yusef said the meeting was the first in a series focusing on “popular activities to confront American-Israeli schemes aimed at eliminating the rights of the Palestinian people.”
 
The Palestinians, he said, needed to organize a “struggling action to foil the ‘deal of the century’ [the U.S. peace plan] and its economic aspect, and voice their rejection of all American policies.”
 
According to Abu Yusef, the protests will be carried out at “friction points,” namely Israeli checkpoints, rather than in inside Palestinian cities, and will be coordinated with Arab-Israeli leaders and Palestinians around the world.
 
The other participants in the Bahrain conference are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Though Israel has not yet received a formal invitation, it is also expected to attend. Responses are pending from Egypt and Jordan.