Fatah Central Committee secretary-general Jibril Rajoub said that the Palestinians will not suffer alone, nor die alone if Israel goes ahead with the unilateral annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, stressing that there is a Palestinian consensus on the popular resistance at this stage, “yet, we are ready to move to another stage if necessary.”
Fatah movement called on Palestinians to participate in a mass gathering on Monday in Jericho, in the occupied West Bank, as part of popular activities that carry one message: “Israel’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank will not pass.”
Speaking at a joint press conference with Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, Rajoub said representatives of the international community, headed by UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, European Union representative, consuls and representatives of foreign countries, including the British Consul General in Jerusalem, the Chinese ambassador, and the Jordanian ambassador who will speak on behalf of the Arab ambassadors, will be attending the popular activity in Jericho tomorrow.
For his part, Abu Rudeineh said that a national decision has been taken at different levels – including by the PLO executive committee, Fatah’s central committee, and the Palestinian leadership – that annexation is rejected, and “this is a principled position.”
“The next 10 days will be decisive and dangerous. We are not confident that Israel and the United States will retract and on this basis we made our decision that annexation is rejected, and the next steps depend on what will happen during these 10 days,” he said.
Abu Rudeineh said that “tremendous pressures are being exerted on President Mahmoud Abbas to resume contacts with the US, but our position is clear; if (US President Donald) Trump said that Jerusalem is not on the table, then President Abbas says Trump is not on the table.”
He stressed that there is no alternative to a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital. “Our next steps will be in line with this position and with international legitimacy,” said Abu Rudeineh.
