Hundreds protest in Gaza, West Bank over Mideast plan

GAZA/RAMALLAH, Palestine

Hundreds of Palestinians on Tuesday protested in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank against the U.S.’ so-called Middle East peace plan.

In Ramallah and al-Bireh cities, the Israeli army tried to disperse the protesters using tear gas shells that caused suffocation to a number of protesters.

In Gaza, the protesters chanted slogans against the plan.

Walid Al Awad, a member of the political bureau of the leftist Palestinian People’s Party, told Anadolu Agency the Palestinian people have confirmed their rejection to the so-called “Deal of the Century".

"We stick to our national unity to face and to down the alleged plan and to protect our Palestinian cause," he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called "Deal of the Century," announced last month, refers to Jerusalem as “Israel’s undivided capital” and recognizes Israeli sovereignty over large parts of the West Bank, including illegally built settlements.

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel has begun drawing up maps of lands in the occupied West Bank whose annexation was proposed by Trump’s so-called peace plan.

* Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara.