Palestinians Wednesday afternoon rallied against Israel’s illegal annexation move as well as the UAE-Israeli normalization agreement at Turmus Ayya town, east of Ramallah city.
The large public gathering was attended by a large host of government ministers, including Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, PLO Executive Committee members, Fatah Central Committee members, and was joined by representatives of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements in addition to international ambassadors to Palestine.
In his speech, Shtayyeh pointed out that the rally participants came to voice their rejection against the US-touted Mideast plan, dubbed deal of the century, which he described as “stillborn plan intended to eliminate the national question of Palestine and cross-off the issues of Jerusalem, refugees and 1967 borders.
Stressing his rejection to the normalization of Arab-Israeli relations, he said that the UAE-Israeli normalization agreement constitutes a flagrant violation of the Arab Peace Initiative, and serves to legitimize the Israeli occupation and encourage Israel to further oppress the Palestinians, demolish their homes and seize their land.
The public gathering featured speeches by a number of international leaders who wanted to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people besides to the representatives of the various Palestinian factions.
Speaking on behalf of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the wife of Hamdi Na‘san, a 38-year-old father of four children who was killed by Israeli settlers in the nearby village of al-Mughayyir in January 2019, recalled former South African President Nilson Mandela’s statement: “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
She reiterated South Africa’s full commitment to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and support its cause and right to self-determination and their independent state.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister of Malaysia Muhyiddin Yassin expressed his concerns over Israel’s illegitimate move to annex large swaths of the West Bank, stressing that this move would further destabilize the Middle East and exacerbate the Palestinian people’s suffering.
He reiterated his country’s support to the principle of the two-state solution as well as President Mahmoud Abbas’ diplomatic initiatives to solve the Palestinian question.
Israeli forces cordoned off the town since the early morning hours and fired tear gas and stun grenades at the participants in an attempt to disperse them.
