Mass protests in Palestine slam so-called peace plan

GAZA CITY/RAMALLAH

Thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank rallied on Thursday in protests against U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called Middle East peace plan.

Demonstrators in Gaza organized two rallies where they displayed banners denouncing the so-called "Deal of the Century" and raised slogans demanding it be scrapped.

The Hamas-run government media office staged a demonstration in front of the office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), west of Gaza.

The protesters held banners conveying their categorical rejection of the American plan and affirming Jerusalem’s status as the capital of Palestine.

Over in the occupied West Bank, a march was held at the northern entrance to the cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh.

The Israeli army fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up the protest while demonstrators responded by pelting stones and torching tires. Witnesses also reported similar clashes near the city of Al-Khalil (Hebron).

Health officials said 18 Palestinians were injured in the clashes and eight of them were hospitalized for treatment. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, five of the protesters were shot with rubber bullets, another 12 were affected by tear gas, and one was hurt by a stone thrown by an Israeli settler.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump released his much-hyped plan to end the Israel-Palestine dispute at the White House with Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu by his side.

There was, however, no Palestinian representative at the announcement, which saw Trump referring to Jerusalem as "Israel's undivided capital".

Trump’s so-called peace plan unilaterally annuls previous UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue and has drawn criticism for giving Israel almost everything it demanded.

*Bassel Ibrahim contributed to this report from Ankara