Palestinian Movement Threatens Israel with New Intifada

Rasa - Head of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) Nayef Hawatmeh said Friday Palestine will launch a new Arab intifada --- an uprising against Israel --- in response to relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which is expected to take place in May.

News ID: 436904

Date: 17 March 2018 - 19:17

RNA - "If the United States relocates its Embassy to Jerusalem, this will be another crime against international law, a new crime, a new aggressive action against the Palestinian people… and we, certainly, will meet this decision with the people's resistance, with an intifada. All who advocate peace among the Arabs and among the Israelis must oppose this action," Hawatmeh said at a press conference in Moscow, Sputnik reported.

The official noted that the Israeli authorities didn't leave any possibility for the continuation of talks on the Palestinian-Israeli settlement.

"Right and far right governments of Israel that succeed each other do not leave any possibility for serious and responsible negotiations to solve the Palestinian problem," Hawatmeh added.

The Palestinian problem is now going through a very difficult stage, which is the result of Israeli and US policies that have become even more aggressive toward Palestine and the Middle East after the election of US President Donald Trump, according to Hawatmeh.

By deciding to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate the US Embassy to this city, Trump showed that the "issue of Jerusalem was just removed from the agenda of talks", the DFLP Leader stressed.

Hawatmeh has also threatened Washington with protests in front of US embassies by Palestinians living in other countries.

In February, US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said that Washington would open its new Embassy in Jerusalem in May to mark the 70th anniversary of the state of Israel.

At the same time, this date for Palestinians is the eve of Nakba, or the 1948 Palestinian exodus, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee over Israel's occupation.

Last December, Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and instructed the US State Department to launch the process of moving the US Embassy, currently located in Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem.

The step has prompted criticism from a number of states, first and foremost those in the Middle East and Palestine, and triggered a wave of protests in the region.

Following Trump's decision, Hamas announced the beginning of the third "intifada."

The previous intifada uprisings in 1987-1991 and 2000-2005 left hundreds of Israelis and thousands of Palestinians dead.

The first Palestinian intifada was a Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation of the territories conquered during the 1967 Six-Day War, while the second uprising was provoked by visits of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and a group of his supporters of the Temple Mount.

While the second intifada had declined, the situation still has remained tense.

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