Amb. Friedman
Weekly Gaza protests to focus on US Ambassador Friedman
Sources in Gaza announce that upcoming Friday protest to resume under slogan 'No annexing West Bank, Friedman shut up' following statement by the ambassador regarding possibility Israel may annex parts of territory; balloon terror continues say JNF officials
After a one-week respite, sources in Gaza announced that the weekly Friday protests at the border will be renewed this Friday and will focus on protesting a statement made by US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman that Israel has a right to annex sections of the West Bank.
Those behind the weekly border protests announced that the slogan for this week's protests will be "No annexing the West Bank, Friedman shut up." Last Friday, when Muslims celebrated Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan, there were no protests at the border.
David Friedman
Wheat field fire, Kfar Azza
In an interview with Ynet Monday, senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said that the PA might submit a complaint to the UN regarding ambassador Friedman's statements. She said that his words demonstrate an "antagonism toward us and the harm caused by the occupation which harms the most basic rights of residents in Israel. This is a statement that you hear from someone who is outside of the law, not someone who is supposed to represent a government."
Hanan Ashrawi (צילום: AFP)
Regarding the upcoming economic conference in Bahrain, Ashrawi said that it is a method to avoid the real issues, to buy time, to strengthen Israel in the region and justify the occupation. We want to deal with political matters, not economic ones. We have economic problems because Israel controls and steals our land and our water sources."
During a visit to Poland, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki said that Friedman's statement was meant "to help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex sections of the occupied Palestinian territories," and he called on the international community to oppose this.
Last week, Israeli security officials told the Wall Street Journal that Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza have replenished their weapons stockpiles to the amount they possessed before the latest flare-up with Israel, some 10,000 mostly low and medium range rockets, and that they have done so by means of smuggling and local manufacturing.
