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US Vice President Mike Pence ended a Middle East trip with a two-day visit to Israel during which he made a speech that angered Palestinians.
US Vice President Mike Pence
Pence met Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and addressed the Knesset on his last day, Monday.
President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas refused to meet the vice president over Washington’s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, while the ruling party, Fatah, boycotted the visit and urged Arab countries not to receive Pence.
In his speech before the Israeli parliament, Pence said that US President Donald Trump had directed the State Department to begin initial preparations to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He vowed that this would happen before the end of 2019, but he also claimed that the decision is in the best interests of peace.
A general strike prevailed on Tuesday in the Palestinian territories in response to calls by Fatah for Palestinians to take to the streets to voice their anger against Pence’s speech.
The Palestinian factions and powers said at a press conference in Gaza on Tuesday that the speech reflected hostility and insolence towards the Palestinians, and was a provocation. They urged the Palestinians to escalate
popular protests and angry marches until they thwarted Trump’s decision.
Head of Hamas political bureau Ismail Haneya told reporters that Pence is unwelcome in Palestine and the region, pointing out that popular protests have reflected the anger against the US policies in the region.
He also said that Washington can no longer be an honest peace broker between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas.
The Hamas official also said that Pence’s speech before the Knesset and the decisions of the US government proved clearly that the United States is part of a strategic coalition which sides with the Zionist entity.
Haneya added that the US aid cut to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which supports Palestinian refugees, was a decision with a political dimension rather than a financial one, and was aimed at liquidating the issue of Palestinian refugees.
Protests against Pence’s visit to the region and anger on the official and popular Palestinian levels, obviously reflect a new trend among the Palestinians who are seeking a new peace broker to replace the US.
For them, Trump’s Jerusalem move and Pence’s
statements before the Knesset have ended any role for the US administration as the leader in any peace settlement with the Israelis.
Pence also made brief stops in Egypt and Jordan where he met with the Egyptian president and King of Jordan.
(CGTN&AFP)
