Palestinians Plan “Day of Rage” During Trump Visit

Just days after thousands of Palestinians took to the streets to march in commemoration of the Naqba – Arabic for “catastrophe” and referring to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, the call has gone out to take to the streets once more – this time to create a “day of rage” while President Trump is in town – to urge rejection of a renewed peace process with Israel under the aegis of the United States. Specifically, the call is to protest while the president visits “occupied territory” in the form of the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Western Wall. The call to action asked for Palestinians to honor a general strike during the hours Trump will be in Bethlehem or east Jerusalem. The planned protest will also call attention to the hunger strike by some 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons for security crimes. The protest was apparently encouraged by recent incidents in which Trump administration personnel including National Security Adviser R.H. McMaster have denied Israeli sovereignty over any portion of Jerusalem despite the president’s campaign promises to do the opposite. The latest gesture to anger Israelis was a video released by the White House that included a map with east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights omitted.